UAE denies Briton held for wearing Qatar football shirt

Emirati officials say Ali Issa Ahmed was charged with "wasting police time and making false statements" following media report that Ahmed was arrested for showing support for Qatar at a football tournament in UAE.

Qatar beat Japan 3-1 in the final to win the Asian Cup 2019 football tournament for the first time. (February 1, 2019)
Reuters

Qatar beat Japan 3-1 in the final to win the Asian Cup 2019 football tournament for the first time. (February 1, 2019)

A British-Sudanese man who activists say was detained for wearing a Qatari football jersey in the United Arab Emirates during the recent Asian Cup tournament has been charged with "wasting police time and making false statements," Emirati officials said on Wednesday. 

Earlier, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported that Ali Issa Ahmed, 26, from Wolverhampton was held after being accused of showing sympathy to Qatar after wearing a shirt of their national soccer team to an Asian Cup match in the Gulf Arab state.

Showing sympathy towards Qatar has been a criminal offence in the UAE since June 2017 when it, along with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, cut ties with Qatar over allegations it supports terrorism.

Britain's Foreign Office is providing assistance to "a British man arrested in the UAE and we are in touch with the local authorities", a spokesman said.

The British foreign office website states that "showing sympathy for Qatar on social media or by any other means of communication is an offence. Offenders could be imprisoned and subject to a substantial fine."

Ahmed is reported to have been unaware of the UAE law that prohibits showing sympathy of Qatar – a side effect of the 2017 dispute. 

The UAE government said in a statement that Ahmed, who they said also has Sudanese citizenship, had gone to a police station in the UAE emirate of Sharjah to complain that he had been harassed and assaulted by supporters of the UAE national side at the tournament.

"The police took him to hospital where a doctor who examined him concluded that his injuries were inconsistent with his account of events and appeared to be self-inflicted," the government said.

It said Ahmed had later admitted to making false statements and wasting police time after being charged on January 24 and will now be processed through UAE courts.

It was not immediately clear what punishment Ahmed could face if found guilty.

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A Qatar fan out side the Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 1, 2019.

Qatar's side was supported by thousands of Omanis in the Asian Cup final, which Qatar won. They wore Qatar scarves and shirts.

Reuters

A Qatar fan holds the country's flag at the Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - January 22, 2019

Qatar were also supported throughout the tournament by a South Korean woman and a Chinese man who dressed in the colours of the Qatar flag.

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