… items that could land England fans in trouble with Qatari officials
The thousands of English and Welsh football fans heading to the Qatar World Cup this month have been warned to be careful what they put in their suitcases due to the plethora of contraband items that could land them fines, in a jail cell or deported back to Britain.
The Foreign Office has issued guidance to supporters urging them to ‘respect local traditions and customs’ including public displays of affection, dressing modestly and any drunken behaviour.
Those who do travel will face draconian rules from the moment they land in Qatar. Supporters should avoid purchasing duty-free booze because the importation of alcohol is illegal. And anyone found taking it into the country will have their stash confiscated and could face imprisonment.
Importing any pornography and s3x toys, pork products and religious books into Qatar is also illegal with all luggage scanned at Hamad International Airport Arrivals Hall and contraband seized. Any drugs bought over the counter such as codeine must come with a prescription note or will be taken away.
World Cup chiefs are expecting fewer fans from the UK than usual – with many put off by alcohol bans and ‘shoebox’ accommodation. There are also deep concerns about allowing a conservative state with a poor human rights record and appalling treatment of the LGBTQ community to host a World Cup.
Only about 3,000 to 4,000 Three Lions supporters, and up to 3,000 cheering on the Wales team, are likely to travel to Qatar this month. Up to 100,000 England fans would be expected to attend a tournament elsewhere in the globe.
The 7,000 UK visitors is much less than at previous tournaments, with some fans complaining of overpriced accommodation, strict rules on drinking and socialising and excessively hot conditions in the tiny Gulf state.
Qatar is a strict Muslim country and drinking alcohol is prohibited except in high-end hotels and a dedicated open-air ‘fan zone’ along the seafront.
Thanks to a ‘sin tax’ applied to all alcohol sales during the tournament, drinks in the fan zone are expected to cost £13 a pint, with prices in the top hotels rising to an eye-watering £80 a beer during the semi-finals and final.
Drinking anywhere else, along with betting, swearing, vaping and any public displays of affection – for both gay and heteros3xual couples – are offences that can lead to arrest.
Police ‘peacekeepers’ are even being deployed to Qatar to help boisterous football fans avoid arrest at the World Cup.
Specialist UK officers will intervene to ‘calm down’ supporters who risk breaching strict morality laws.
Drinking alcohol outside fan zones, swearing and public displays of affection are all offences that can lead to arrest in the hardline Islamic country.
Qatar is hiring hardened police officers from Pakistan and Turkey to help enforce law and order during the tournament, which starts on November 20.
And for the first time at a World Cup, Britain is sending a contingent of 15 police officers to help fans avoid confrontation with the security forces. These peacekeepers — known as ‘supporter engagement officers’ — will act as intermediaries to try to ‘de-escalate’ situations.
While the England’s squad’s wives and girlfriends will be living it up aboard a £1billion floating palace dubbed ‘HMS Wag’, the luxury liner MSC World Europa which will sail offshore, ordinary fans face a more modest prospect.
Qatar’s tourism chiefs have trumpeted basic cabins costing £230 a night which will be home to thousands of fans during the tournament which runs from November 20 to December 18, but unimpressed supporters have dubbed them ‘shoeboxes in the desert’.
The brightly-coloured huts near Doha airport have two single beds, a toilet and a shower and air conditioning – vital in the 90F (32C) temperatures.
Some 60 per cent of the 6,000 cabins in the supporters’ village – where fans without stadium tickets can watch the matches on a large TV screen – have already been booked up.
Fans are being warned that a trip for the whole tournament could cost them upwards of £5,000, including travel and accommodation. Some supporters have decided to base themselves in nearby Dubai due to a lack of affordable hotels in Doha.
As if the booze bans or high prices are not sobering enough, fans have also been advised by health experts to steer clear of camels, owing to an outbreak of Camel flu, or MERS-CoV, which can be transmitted to humans.
Unlike Covid-19, there is no vaccine or treatment and fans following England and Wales have been warned to heed UK Government advice to avoid the animals, which are a common sight in the Middle Eastern country.
The Qatari authorities have repeatedly stressed that ‘everyone is welcome’ in their country for what they are billing as the greatest ever World Cup, and the first to be held in the Middle East.
The Qataris have spent a fortune getting everything ready for the fans, spending an astonishing £185billion, more than 10 times the previous most expensive World Cup, the £15billion Brazil spent for the 2014 tournament. Qatar has 50 new hotels, including a Waldorf Astoria, a Fairmont Raffles and the Lusail Winter Wonderland.
There will be a kitesurfing resort for water sports, a yacht club and an eco-friendly desert resort at the most expensive tournament in history.