Grinning Qatari fans were taking photos of Miss Croatia at the World Cup
A former Miss Croatia took a stand at the World Cup with regard to feminism by dressing the way she wanted to in Qatar.
But it turns out that gawking onlookers thought she was dressing for them, as they took it upon themselves to photograph the pageant queen.
Ivana Knöll took to Instagram on Saturday to share a snap of the scenes in which the model dressed patriotically in a red and white checkered top and leggings, whilst Qatari fans smiled as they took their own pictures of her.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Hassan Al-Jefairi, a Qatari entrepreneur who created a robot to help deaf children learn sign language, claimed the men in the picture were capturing their own images because they disapproved of her outfit.
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Taking to Twitter last night he wrote in response to the surfaced images: "Just for your info they take a photo not because they like her but because they don't like the way she is mis-dressed on regards to our culture.
"You can confirm this with any local Qatari. Probably to report it."
It seems like a bit of a long-shot to me, but whatever he says...
Knöll is a huge fan of her native Croatian team, and often dresses like this, modelling in the colours of her country's flag, with a whole range of outfits adorned in the red and white check marks of Croatia.
She rose to fame after being spotted in the crowd at previous World Cups and has travelled to Qatar for her third tournament in a row, but some of her outfits have come in for criticism as they've clashed with the nation's dress code.
While tourists don't have to dress like the locals they are still expected to cover their shoulders, upper arms and legs.
Following the rules is the 'duty of all those who reside in the state of Qatar or enter its territory', so breaking them risks arrest and prison.
Qatar's tourism board has told fans to 'show respect for local culture by avoiding excessively revealing clothing in public'.
Aside from yesterday’s picture-taking fiasco, Knöll hasn’t come under legal fire for her clothes, which left her ‘surprised’ after the dress code seemed so strict.
Ivana said she would have been 'super angry' if the Qatari dress code had been enforced onto her choices.
She said: "First I was thinking if the World Cup is happening there, they for sure will allow everything to make it comfortable for all fans without any of their restrictions.
"Then I heard about the rules and I was shocked. In the dress code you're forbidden from showing your shoulders, knees, belly and neck. I was like 'omg I don’t even have clothes covering that at all'."
She added: "I think they need also to respect our way of life, our beer lovers, our religion and on the end me wearing a bikini, because I am a Catholic from Croatia who is here because of the World Cup."
Gabriella Ferlita