An Israeli reporter was told that he is “not welcome” in Qatar during live television coverage by a supporter wearing the kit of Saudi Arabia.
Moav Vardi, the head of the foreign news desk at Israeli public broadcaster Kan 11, was confronted by a fan wearing a Saudi Arabia top following the nation’s two-goal defeat by Poland on Saturday.
Vardi was told by the fan in front of the TV camera: “It is Palestine, there is no Israel. Go please. You are not welcome here. This is Qatar, this is our country – you are not welcome here. There is only Palestine. There is no Israel.”
The incident followed on from Raz Shechnik – another Israeli journalist covering the tournament – outlining his negative experiences in Qatar based on his nationality. Shechnik posted a detailed thread on his Twitter account to detail what he had experienced during the competition.
“Listen, we didn't want to write these things. We always thought that we, the journalists, are not the story,” he wrote – alongside a video showing the hostile reactions he received from fans when informing them that he was Israeli. “Certainly not in the biggest event of world sports next to the Olympics. But after ten days in Doha, it is impossible not to share with you what we are going through here.
“We feel hated. We feel the hostility and we feel unwelcome. How did a friendly Qatari tell us at first glance when he asked and answered that we were from Israel? ‘I would like to say welcome to you. But you are really not blessed. Fly away from here as fast as possible.' So. clear and smooth. And he is another ‘host’, not some Lebanese fan who is passing by. Now let's not pretend huh?”
Shechnik went on to outline several specific unpleasant experiences after matches when initially having friendly conversations with fans, before the mood turned sour when he informed them that he was covering the event for Israeli TV.
He concluded his analysis by stating: “Take it wherever you want from here. It's a great World Cup, right, but we'll leave here with a very bad feeling. On the other hand, what fun it will be to return to our country. We have no other country.”
