A Moroccan website involved, UAE escalates the campaign of incitement against the World Cup in Qatar
The UAE and its media outlets escalated the campaign of incitement against the World Cup in Qatar a month before its official launch.
Hespress, bought by the UAE for $25 million and whose board of directors are based there, published a series of media materials attacking Qatar and the World Cup.
Tweeters highlighted that the Hespress website does not stop Emirati instructions from promoting lies against Qatar, which was widely criticized, especially by Moroccans who expect their national team to participate in the World Cup in Qatar.
In an “investigative” piece by Hespress, the website said that Qatar carried out a large-scale and long-term intelligence operation against FIFA officials with the help of CIA personnel.
The investigation depended on anonymous discredited sources and claimed that the intelligence operation aimed to prevent Qatar from losing the World Cup, similar to what happened in 2010.
According to Swiss media, the volume of espionage activities was large and lasted for nine years, with a budget of 378 million dollars, which included activities on five continents.
It claimed that the espionage included email accounts, computers, phones, friends, and even family members of FIFA members without providing any documentation on the validity of his allegations.
For its part, the Emirati-owned newspaper, Al Arab, intensified its incitement campaign against the World Cup in Qatar and engaged in the ongoing smear campaign.
The newspaper published a report entitled: Football is lost: the Doha World Cup is turned into the World Cup for workers’ rights.
The newspaper claimed that “the strong public relations campaign carried out by Qatar during the past years did not succeed in securing a World Cup whose title is only football.”
“As time progresses, this priority appears to be declining, as news of workers’ and women’s rights and fears of strict social laws have outweighed expectations about the success of the largest demonstration in the world,” it said.
And it continued, in an open language of incitement, “The Qataris feel great pressure, especially since criticism of their country’s human rights record is expanding to include countries and human rights organizations, especially current players, some of whom are leaders of well-known national teams, and old players whose influence is still great among the football fans.”
Meanwhile, the controversial Emirati singer Hamad Al Mazrouei, who is close to Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed, expressed his great hatred for Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup.
Al Mazrouei said in a tweet alluding to the State of Qatar and its hosting of the World Cup: “15 days separate us from confusion and inexperience.”
Al-Mazrouei’s tweet made him subject to a torrent of criticism from activists on Twitter, who emphasized Qatar’s support as the first Arab and Islamic country to host a significant event such as the World Cup.
A few days ago, the European Microscope for Middle East Issues revealed that the UAE had financed systematic incitement campaigns against the World Cup in Qatar.
Al-Maqhar said that human rights organizations and members of fan club associations in several European countries, including Germany and France, were monitored actively calling for a boycott of the World Cup after receiving secret sums of money from the UAE.
It added that these parties are trying to launch campaigns among the fans of European clubs that enjoy a popular following in Europe to promote campaigns to boycott the World Cup at the instigation of the Emirates.
Al-Maqhar indicated that the European Football Association and the local federations – especially in the five major leagues – are aware of such politicized activities and are considering taking measures to curb the politicization of sports through political disputes.
This is consistent with the disclosure of a new scandal by the African Journalists Union of the Emirates regarding its incitement of press unions to boycott the World Cup tournament scheduled in Qatar.
In a statement obtained by Emirates Leaks, the Union of African Journalists condemned the UAE’s interference and contact with African press unions to boycott the World Cup in Qatar and incite against Doha.
The statement was issued after the meeting of the African Journalists Association in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, and said: “We strongly condemn the UAE’s attempts to manipulate journalists’ organizations in Africa to issue public statements or campaign against the 2022 FIFA World Cup that the State of Qatar will host.”
The statement affirmed Africa’s rejection of the UAE’s attempts to involve journalists in Africa in political disputes and to manipulate them and their organizations in connection with the organization of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
It stressed the full support for the decision of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on human rights, the situation of workers in Qatar and the remarkable progress it has made in all fields.
The statement decided to work to directly facilitate African journalists’ coverage of the 2022 World Cup and provide the African people with a full opportunity to follow the global event.
