Qatar’s Asian Cup triumph with seven successive wins was a major slap in the face of the blockading countries primarily the UAE where the historic feat was accomplished. In an attempt to demean the glory cornered by Qatar, the UAE deliberately played down the sporting triumph achieved on Friday when Al Annabi beat Japan 3-1 in the final.
One of the most irritating factors for the siege countries is that the Qatari team scored a staggering 19 goals in the three-week football event. Only one goal was scored against Qatar and that too in the final.
The victory of Qatar’s national team against Japan left a bitter taste for the siege countries. The media of the hosting country either tried to completely ignore the Qatari victory or focused only on the Japanese team.
The UAE media praised achievement of “Abu Dhabi” in organizing the tournament. Some of the news outlets instead of praising the performances of the Qatari team, carried headlines like “The Samurai Blue loses Asian Cup,”, “Thank you UAE 2019, Goodbye Asia”, or “UAE concludes the best version in history with record numbers” in attempt to highlight what they have considered Abu Dhabi’s successful organization of the championship.
On the other hand, Qatar dealt with the event in a sporting manner without mixing sports and politics. Qatar showed respect to opponents and applauded the support showed by Omani football fans.
Qatar’s win clearly united the Arabs. The Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani praised Qatar’s victory saying it was a win for the entire Arab world. Following the match, the Amir congratulated the team and the people of Qatar extending his “Greetings to the heroes, the technical and administrative bodies who have made the tournament an Arab achievement.”
Immediately after the match ending whistle, thousands of Qataris and residents on Friday took to the streets of Doha to celebrate Al Annabi’s 3-1 victory in Abu Dhabi. The celebrations reached its climax yesterday with arrival of the heroes and the reception given by H H the Amir. The public celebrations extended from the airport area to Doha Corniche.
History will see that Qatar won in the absence of its supporters except for some Omani heroes who stood holding Qatari flags and supporting our players. The Omani gesture will be remembered by Qatar forever. The only low point in this tournament was that the event was hosted by a country which does not believe in sporting spirit and values.
