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Israeli journalists and fans are being boycotted and yelled at by fans, locals, and officials at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.Multiple Israelis have claimed to have been met by an atmosphere of hostility and hatred at the World Cup in Qatar, with fans refusing to speak to Israeli journalists, waving Palestinian flags in the background of their videos and yelling at them. Moav Vardy, KAN’s foreign affairs reporter, was yelled at by a Saudi fan who told him that “You are not welcome here. This is Qatar. This is our country. There is only Palestine; no Israel.” Other videos...

Looks like Javanka have gotten a case of World Cup fever. Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner rubbed shoulders with Qatari Prime Minister Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani on Thursday as they soaked up the international soccer madness. The former first daughter joined her husband and their three children — Arabella, 11, Joseph, 9, and Theodore, 6 — at the Lusail Stadium to watch Brazil take down Serbia in the early stages of the World Cup tournament. Ivanka and Jared, who both served as senior advisors to former President Trump, were spotted mingling with politicians and Middle...

In 1986, the International Olympic Committee voted to split the Winter and Summer Olympics so they would alternate every two years instead of occurring together every four years. The new tradition began in 1994 with the Lillehammer Winter Olympics, site of the infamous showdown between figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. The IOC initiated the split schedule in part to bring greater attention to the winter events, and while this move did bring them out from the shadow of the more popular summer games, it also locked the Winter Olympics into permanent competition with an even bigger quadrennial athletic...

Iran considered carrying out a terror attack at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in an attempt to disrupt the event, military intelligence chief of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, according to The Jerusalem Post. Speaking at an Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv, Major General Aharon Haliva said that the "only thing" stopping Iran from an act of terror was concern over how host country Qatar might respond, the report said. The FIFA World Cup 2022 kicked off on Sunday and is set to last through December 18. Iran's national team is one of...

Members of Germany’s national soccer team protested FIFA’s ban on players wearing LGBTQ armbands at the World Cup by covering their mouths when posing for a team photo. All players for Germany’s starting 11 posed for the team’s official photo before their opening match Wednesday against Japan by using their right hand to cover their mouth. The protest was in response to the international soccer governing body’s threat to impose sanctions on Germany and six other European nations if their players wore rainbow-printed armbands in support of LGBTQ rights during this year’s World Cup tournament. According to FIFA rules, players...

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Incidents involving Football Association of Wales staff and Wales supporters having rainbow-coloured bucket hats confiscated before the Group B opener against the USA are being urgently investigated by authorities. Fifa and the Qataris were in talks on the matter on Tuesday, where Fifa reminded their hosts of their assurances before the tournament that everyone was welcome and rainbow flags would be allowed. The Guardian also understands Fifa is deeply concerned about several incidents around the match, including Welsh FA staff and fans being confronted by security for bringing the hats into the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and a US fan...

In Iran, Israel and the protesters are blamed for the team's defeat in the World Cup The loss to England was overshadowed by the rare protest by the Iranian national team players, who did not sing the national anthem as a sign of solidarity with the "hijab protest". Thousands of Iranians in the stands protested against the regime during the match. The conservative media associated with the Ayatollah regime reported that protesters celebrated the defeat in the streets of Tehran. She blames them, and the enemy countries, for the loss: "Iran lost 6:2 to England, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the...

Iranian football fans are openly cheering the defeat of their national team against England at the World Cup yesterday in yet another sign of protest at the authoritarian Islamic Republic. Footage emerged overnight of a man sitting on the back of a moped, brandishing a huge Union Jack which streamed behind him as he rode through the streets of Tehran in the wake of his team's 6-2 dismantling in Qatar. 'People are happy because of England's victory,' the man who filmed the spectacle from his car said solemnly.

A female Argentinian television reporter was robbed live on air while reporting in Qatar on the World Cup, with money and documents stolen from her handbag. Dominique Metzger was broadcasting from the Corniche area of Doha in the build up to the first match of the tournament when she says the items were stolen. Speaking after the incident, Metzger said she reported the incident to local police, and was surprised by their response.

This is the report on the controversies around Qatar being host of the World Cup that just played on @BBCOne as @GaryLineker begins @BBCSport's coverage of the tournament. Report ... [5 mins]

Doha — Qatar has invited the radical preacher Dr. Zakir Naik, infamous for his endorsing views on suicide bombings, to teach the FIFA fans about Islam. The famous ScreenMix entertainment magazine tweeted on Saturday, “Qatar invited the famous Islamic preacher Dr. Zakir Naik to deliver religious lectures during the 2022 World Cup

The World Cup is equal parts sporting event and international celebration — and for many fans, alcohol plays a large role. That's been true in stadiums, and in bars that open early or stay open late to show games. But the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is unlike any before it. Just two days before the tournament's first match in the Muslim nation, officials made the surprise announcement that fans won't be allowed to drink beer at the country's eight World Cup stadiums — a reversal of a previously announced policy. Alcohol is tightly regulated in Qatar, where customs agents...

In a recent article, the Pakistan-based Urdu-language pro-Taliban daily Roznama Ummat examined the Qatari government's preparations for da'wa ("preaching," "invitation to Islam") at the FIFA World Cup beginning on November 20, 2022. Da'wa is an important part of Islam whereby Muslims are expected to invite non-Muslims to embrace the religion. The article, titled "FIFA World Cup And Da'wa Of The Religion," and written by Islamic religious scholar Zia Chitrali, explains various media activities and events planned to explain Islam to non-Muslim spectators and to try to persuade them to convert. As part of these events planned by Qatari officials, thousands...

DOHA, QATAR — In a move that quickly received international backlash, the World Cup host country of Qatar has banned the sale of beer in or near arenas where matches will be played. With beer sales outlawed, the World Cup's estimated 1 million attendees will be forced to just sit there and watch soccer. FIFA organizers responded to Qatar's alcohol ban by flopping onto the ground and screaming as if gravely injured. "What's the point of watching soccer if you can't get plastered enough to not have to watch soccer?" Asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino who, moments earlier had been...

The FIFA World Cup is right around the corner. The 32-team quadrennial event is all set to kick off this Sunday at Qatar’s Al Bayt stadium. But even as hosts Qatar ready themselves to showcase their world-class football stadiums, human rights groups are increasingly calling for a boycott of the tournament. Over the last decade, as Qatar prepared itself to host the first-ever FIFA World Cup in the Arab peninsula, Humans Rights groups pointed out the several violations the Gulf state was committing. The monarchical state was accused of employing slave labor from South Asia to build the infrastructure required...

You see Qatar's refusal to sell alcohol in stadiums as a disgrace, I see this refusal as another illustration of the clash of civilizations that pokes a finger in the eye of Western culture. This time it happens on the biggest stage of all.

After the death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa "Zhina" Amini, on September 16, 2022, after Iran's morality police beat her because she was not wearing a head covering correctly, Iranian protestors took to the streets throughout the country. Footage showing thousands of protestors clashing with security forces have quickly made it to social media platforms under multiple hashtags. As the protests expanded and gained momentum, Arab intellectuals on social media expressed their disappointment in coverage of the protest by the Qatar-based and funded TV channel Al-Jazeera, which they accused of ignoring the protests, abandoning the protesters, and focusing on promoting...

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly triggered a barrage of criticism Wednesday for telling soccer fans to “be respectful” of Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ culture when the World Cup kicks off there next month. Cleverly, a member of the ruling Conservative party, said on LBC Radio that he has spoken to Qatari authorities about how gay fans will be treated. He said the Qatari authorities are aware “they are going to have to make some compromises” with regard to their “very different set of cultural norms.” “They want to make sure that football fans are safe, secure and enjoy themselves,” Cleverly said. ...

England’s gay fan groups have been advised to stay away from the World Cup by locals in Qatar despite claims from FIFA and the organising committee that it will be safe for them to visit. The FA said this week they had received assurances that gay supporters who hold hands or wave a rainbow flag will not be prosecuted as the Qatari government will bring in legislation to permit previously outlawed behaviours for the duration of the tournament, but they are still seeking details about how the laws will be enforced in practice. Gay fans remain concerned however, particularly after...