Argentina fan who went topless at World Cup final 'escapes punishment' in Qatar
The Argentinian fan who went topless during the World Cup final has seemingly escaped without punishment in Qatar.
Eagle-eyed viewers noticed a woman and another fan appear to flash television cameras during the match between Argentina and France.
One person tweeted: “I spotted her, very brave! she’ll be arrested over there if she’s not careful.”
With public nudity being criminalised in the Gulf state, fans initially held grave fears for the woman's safety as many thought she'd face serious police action.
Advert
But it turns out she has managed to duck any sanction, taking to Instagram to update her followers on her whereabouts – as well as upload more videos of herself flashing.
Initial reports from The Sun suggested 'there was no sign of the supporter' after she was escorted from the stadium by security.
But the morning after Argentina's heroics, the woman - named Noe - surfaced and began sharing various clips from the previous day's celebrations.
She also shared screenshots of the countless news articles on her exploits.
Heading into the tournament, women were warned of the Arab nation's strict rules around dress code and the threat of jail time if those laws were broken.
Although non-Qatari women weren't required to wear the traditional abaya robe, those travelling around the region were banned from wearing any tight clothing and were required to have their shoulders and knees covered at all times.
So if you're going by the book, whether you agree with it or not, Noe's actions did break the laws in Qatar, which is why there were mounting fears over her whereabouts.
Thankfully, she's alright.
An article by Outkick read: "After an examination of their social media feeds, OutKick can report that the Qatar government not only allowed the ladies to walk out of Lusail Stadium after the flashing incident, but they didn’t even arrest the ladies after they flashed fans OUTSIDE the stadium."
Funnily enough, there have been plenty of male fans waving their shirts above their heads in Qatari stadiums, just as there were after Argentina were crowned champions, but unsurprisingly less of a fuss has been made of this.
There will likely be toplessness and debauchery in Argentina for days (and nights) to come after they were crowned campeones del mundo.
The remarkable match was decided on penalties, and the French faltered, which sent the Argentinian fans into raptures and cemented Lionel Messi as one of the best - if not the best - to ever play the beautiful game.
Jayden Collins