DOHA: A Qatari official and senior Asian Cup tournament organiser arrived in the United Arab Emirates Friday after being denied entry 24 hours earlier, amid a simmering diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
Saoud al-Mohannadi, vice-president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Qatar Football Association, arrived in Abu Dhabi on Friday morning, the AFC said. Mohannadi is also chair of the Asian Cup’s organising committee.
An AFC statement on Thursday said it was “aware of reports that [Mohannadi]… was unable to travel to the United Arab Emirates from Muscat in Oman”.
“We are investigating the situation as we were assured of visas and entry permits for all AFC Organising Committee
and Executive Members,” the AFC said.
The tournament, Asia’s biggest football competition, will be hosted by the UAE this month.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain – which have imposed a political and economic boycott on fellow Gulf state Qatar since June 2017 – all have teams in the competition.
As part of the sanctions imposed, direct flights from Qatar to the blockading countries have been halted. Qatari planes are also banned from the airspace of rival countries.
World Cup 2022 host Qatar has been accused by its neighbours of supporting terrorism and seeking better relations with Saudi’s arch regional foe, Iran.
Doha denies the accusations and says its former allies are seeking regime change in the gas-rich state. Qatar will also play in the Asian Cup this month – and their team has been drawn in the same group as Saudi.- AFP
