Sale of beer with alcohol banned at World Cup stadiums in Qatar
Doha, Nov 18: The sale of all beer with alcohol at the eight World Cup stadiums was banned Friday, only two days before the soccer tournament is set to start.
Non-alcoholic beer will still be sold at the 64 matches in the country.
"Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA, a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from ... stadium perimeters," FIFA said in a statement.
Champagne, wine, whiskey and other alcohol is still expected to be served in the luxury hospitality areas of the stadiums. Outside of those places, beer is normally the only alcohol sold to regular ticket holders.
Ab InBev, the parent company of World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
AB InBev pays tens of millions of dollars at each World Cup for exclusive rights to sell beer and has already shipped the majority of its stock from Britain to Qatar in expectation of selling its product to millions of fans. The company's partnership with FIFA started at the 1986 tournament and they are in negotiations for renewing their deal for the next World Cup in North America.
While a sudden decision like this may seem extreme in the West, Qatar is an autocracy governed by a hereditary emir, who has absolute say over all governmental decisions.
Qatar, an energy-rich Gulf Arab country, follows an ultraconservative form of Islam known as Wahhabism like neighboring Saudi Arabia. However, alcohol sales have been permitted in hotel bars for years.
Qatar's government and its Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Already, the tournament has seen Qatar change the date of the opening match only weeks before the World Cup began.
When Qatar launched its bid to host the World Cup, the country agreed to FIFA's requirements of selling alcohol in stadiums, and again when signing contracts after winning the vote in 2010.
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the host country was forced to change a law to allow alcohol sales in stadiums.
Ronan Evain, the executive director of the fan group Football Supporters Europe, called the decision to ban beer sales at the stadiums in Qatar "extremely worrying."
"For many fans, whether they don't drink alcohol or are used to dry stadium policies at home, this is a detail. It won't change their tournament," Evain wrote on Twitter.
"But with 48 (hours) to go, we've clearly entered a dangerous territory where assurances' don't matter anymore."
AB InBev's deal with FIFA was renewed in 2011 after Qatar was picked as host in a two-tournament package through 2022. However, the Belgium-based brewer has faced uncertainty in recent months on the exact details of where it can serve and sell beer in Qatar.
An agreement was announced in September for beer with alcohol to be sold within the stadium perimeters before and after games. Only alcohol-free Bud Zero would be sold in the stadium concourses for fans to drink in their seats in branded cups.
Last weekend, AB InBev was left surprised by a new policy insisted on by Qatari organizers to move beer stalls to less visible locations within the perimeter.
Budweiser was also to be sold in the evenings only at the official FIFA fan zone in downtown Al Bidda Park, where up to 40,000 fans can gather to watch games on giant screens. The price was confirmed as
14 for a beer.
The company will be based at an upscale hotel in the West Bay area of Doha with its own branded nightclub for the tournament.
At the W Hotel in Doha, workers continued putting together a Budweiser-themed bar planned at the site. Its familiar AB logo was plastered on columns and walls at the hotel, with one reading: "The World Is Yours To Take."
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Man caught on CCTV kicking five-year-old playing outside home in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): A five-year-old boy was injured after he was allegedly kicked by a neighbour while playing near his uncle’s house, police said on Friday.
The incident occurred in Thyagarajanagar on December 14.
CCTV footage of the incident showed the child, identified as Neev Jain, playing badminton with other children outside the house when a man approached him from behind and suddenly kicked him.
The impact caused the boy to fall to the ground. The man was then seen casually walking away from the spot without offering any help or showing concern, the footage showed.
Police said a preliminary inquiry revealed that the accused is suffering from a mental health disorder and is undergoing treatment.
According to police, in her complaint, the boy’s mother, Deepika Jain, stated that she had visited her elder brother Manoj’s house on December 14.
At around 1.10 pm, while her son was playing with other children near the house, a resident of the neighbouring house, identified as Ranjan, allegedly kicked the child without provocation.
As a result, the boy fell and sustained bleeding above the eyebrow and abrasions on his hands and legs, she said.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered under Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The accused was arrested and later released, a senior police officer said.
A five-year-old boy was injured after a passerby kicked him while he was playing near his grandmother's house in Bengaluru's Thyagarajanagar.
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