A Danish TV presenter has said a Qatari official has apologised to him and his team after threatening to destroy their equipment during a confrontation.
You can see the original video that sparked the whole thing below:
Rasmus Tantholdt was on the scene in the build-up to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar when a group of men pulled up in a vehicle and asked them to stop filming.
Despite showing his accreditation and maintaining that they were allowed to film anywhere, the officials still asked for the crew – who are following the Danish football team in Qatar – to stop filming, and even threatened to break their equipment.
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During the confrontation, Tantholdt could be heard saying: “You have invited the whole world here.
“Why can’t we film? It is a public place.”
After showing his press pass, he then said: “You can break the camera. You want to break it? You are threatening us by smashing the camera?”
Now, the team behind the world’s biggest football event claims they’ve made an apology, which has been backed up by the presenter himself.
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Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy – who are behind the organisation of the tournament – released a statement that said: “Upon inspection of the crew’s valid tournament accreditation and filming permit, an apology was made to the broadcaster by on-site security before the crew resumed their activity.”
Tantholdt confirmed: “We now got an apology from Qatar International Media Office and from Qatar Supreme Committee.
“This is what happened when we were broadcasting live for [TV2] from a roundabout today in Doha.”
He added: “But will it happen to other media as well?”
On their website, the Danish TV broadcaster wrote: “The team was bluntly told that if they didn’t stop filming, their cameras would be destroyed.
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“This is despite the fact that TV2’s team has acquired the correct accreditations and reported from a public place.”
Denmark’s team have been amongst those attending the tournament that have been outspoken against the organising country and treatment of migrant workers in the lead-up to the event.
They have planned to wear three shirts that honour those workers that died, which are all-red, all-black, and all-white, with no sponsors, words, or symbols on them.
The Qatari regime has also been criticised for attitudes to the LGBTQIA+ community, as being gay is currently outlawed.
Earlier this week, a Qatari ambassador for the tournament described homosexuality as a ‘damage in the mind’ during an interview with German TV channel ZDF.
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Khalid Salman said: “[Homosexuality] is haram. You know what haram means?”
It means forbidden.
Salman continued: "During the World Cup, many things will come here to the country. Let's talk about gays: the most important thing is everybody will accept that they come here - but they will have to accept our rules."
When asked why it is forbidden, Salman said: "I am not a strict Muslim but why is it haram? “Because it is damage in the mind."
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His comments have been roundly condemned, with Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka telling the German press: "It's very oppressive. This is an image of a man that comes from another millennium.
"It leaves you speechless that something like this can be said by a World Cup ambassador shortly before a World Cup."
The World Cup in Qatar kicks off this Sunday.
Topics: Sport, Football, World Cup, World News, TV and Film
Tom Wood