On Tuesday evening, before the match between the USA and Iran, Kunti is said to have had an unpleasant meeting with the WC guards in Qatar. – I was arrested for 15 minutes by the security guards for taking a “wrong” photo. A photo of three women, including a young girl in tears after their Persian flag was confiscated. Was forced to delete, Kunti wrote on Twitter before the sensitive showdown between the US and Iran. He is a freelancer, but covers the WC for a number of newspapers and magazines, including Norwegian Josimar and Idrettspolitikk.no. – Had to undress for the bra In the corridors of Al Thumama Stadium, news meets a calm but upset Kunti after what he describes as an unpleasant experience with the security guards. According to the journalist, the stage started when he decided to observe the security check before the match to find out if a more thorough check of supporters was carried out than previously in the championship. – We could see that the security guards were much more careful than before. They went through bags, they even asked people to remove headgear to see that there were no messages underneath. One woman told us that she had to strip down to her bra to show that there were no hidden messages, he says. – The guards came immediately According to Kunti, two women arrived a short time later, who he believes were mother and daughter, and a boy who passed the security guards. They were carrying a Persian flag which is said to have been confiscated, which in turn is said to have caused the young girl to start crying. – I took a quick picture of it, and the security guards noticed it, he says. The situation must have escalated there. – They came immediately and said I had to delete the photo. I obviously didn’t want to, so they took me aside and detained me for 15 minutes. They tried to pressure me to delete the photo. They then called their boss and he came to ask me to delete it. In the end I had to do it, he says. – How did you react when they asked you to delete the picture? – I was a bit taken aback, because I had made sure that there was nothing from the security check that was visible in the picture. That’s why I thought the picture was perfectly legal to take. I was obviously surprised, and they were quite aggressive, says Kunti. Gave Fifa a clear message He states that he is doing well, despite the tense situation that had arisen a short time before. But shaken, he is. – It obviously shouldn’t have happened, it’s absolutely not right that this can happen. This is not how they should work, especially not in a World Cup. Regardless of whether a World Cup is played in Qatar or in the USA in four years, it should not be relevant. I spoke to Fifa afterwards and advised that what the security guards did is unacceptable. news has contacted both the Qatari World Cup committee and Fifa’s media department and offered them to comment on Kunti’s statements. At the time of writing, we have not received a response. The Josimar writer was not the only one who could tell about such experiences at Al Thumama Stadium on Tuesday night. Danish reporter with a similar story TV 2 Danmark’s correspondent Rasmus Tanthold is said to have had an intense meeting with the security guards. – So now I am arrested by Qatari police for filming Iranians who were attacked by regime-supporting Iranians, he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening. An hour later he posted a new message: – And now I’m released again after they asked me to delete the photo, which I refused. news has made several attempts to get Tanthold to speak, but so far without success. We have also sent Tanthold’s allegations to Fifa and the WC committee, but have not received a response to that inquiry either. Tanthold is also the same Danish journalist who just before the World Cup went around the world when he was stopped live in Qatar by security personnel who threatened to destroy the camera. Outside the World Cup arena on Tuesday evening, news met several people who could tell about security guards who worked in high gear before Iran’s meeting with the USA. We spoke there with a young man, who didn’t really want to appear for an interview, but decided to speak because he thinks it’s important that things come out. At the same time as his mother tries to get him to go on, the young man stops and tells in a hurried voice that a short time before, they had been deprived of several supporter effects on the way in. This Iran supporter did not like the treatment he received from the security guards before Iran’s match against the USA. Photo: news – We have had a pin with Iran’s map in the first two matches. This time we were not allowed. We brought Iran’s flag, without any political message. But they forced us to throw it in the bin. Against the United States, they have stepped up security. They kept us in the security room for 20 minutes and said they were going to get the police. They threatened to throw us out, says the boy, obviously upset. – Why? – I don’t understand it. If it had been a political message, maybe I would have understood it. But when it’s a blank flag, with nothing on it. Then I don’t understand why it’s not allowed, he says.
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Covering the WC for a Norwegian magazine – reacts strongly to the message he received from the guards – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
