FIFA: Qatar officials block live TV reporting, threaten to break scribe’s camera; apologize after VIDEO goes viral
In the video, officials of the Qatar WC organizing team can be seen blocking a LIVE TV reporting & also threatening to break reporter’s camera if he doesn’t stop recording.
New Delhi: While Qatar is all decked up for the soccer carnival and raring to host players & audience alike from across the globe, a video of browbeating & threatening a reporter has surfaced online bringing it much criticism & embarrassment.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to kick off in the Middle East country in less than a week now and lakhs of visitors have already started reaching its shores for the mega tournament.
In the video, officials of the Qatar WC organizing team can be seen blocking a LIVE TV reporting & also threatening to break reporter’s camera if he doesn’t stop recording.
Rasmus Tantholdt, a TV correspondent with Danish broadcaster TV2 was interrupted by some Qatar officials while he was doing LIVE reporting about the arrangements & preparations in the capital city Doha, ahead of World Cup.
— world cup out of context (@unluckyfootie) November 16, 2022
The video went viral in no time and till now it has gathered more than 12.7 million views on Twitter alone.
As seen in the video, three officials can be seen arriving at the spot in a gold buggy and then asking him to stop the broadcast. One person even tried to block the TV crew camera as he held up some object before it. When the correspondent protested, they reportedly threatened to break his camera & other equipment.
“You have invited the whole world here. Why can’t we film? It is a public place,” Rasmus Tantholdt can be heard saying. He even showed his media accreditation to the officials but they didn’t stop. “You can break the camera. You want to break it? You are threatening us by smashing the camera?” Rasmus further said.
Later, the organizing committee apologized for the inconvenience and said that the crew was ‘mistakenly interrupted’.
According to Deadline News, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy issued a statement saying that the crew was ‘mistakenly interrupted’ and an apology had been made to the broadcaster.