Jodie:
The World Cup of Soccer happening in Qatar will include serious problems for fans and their countries. Expect many fans to disregard many laws. Expect some group disruptions. Expect some deaths to be caused. Expect police clashes with some fans. Knowing how the World Cup generates fan behavior, I don’t know why any would think it would be a great idea. Alcohol will be one issue, and fans behavior that is banned will happen anyway. Laws will be broken and Qatar with think that what is needed is harsher action on people – treating visitors as if they were Moslem. It is going to be 4 weeks of fan injuries from police and the country. I can see a few games being possibly stopped or disrupted because of police clashes, and police being unable to control fans from around the world. It will be Qatar and the police other Arab nations are sending in vs people from around the world. There will be some volatility and unless Qatar makes room for world fans, there will be many problems. Enough problems that when it’s all over, to say “This (having the World Cup in Qatar) was not a good idea.” Qatar will blame the fans and fans will blame Qatar, the Arab nations, Islam and Qatar’s not accommodating fans.

D:
I don’t think this region is ready, not even a place like Dubai. Well, we can pray for a joyful event free of trouble. People will choose what they will but we [can]still pray for wiser choices

From what I have been able to gather, alcohol was going to be permitted at games until suddenly it wasn’t. It also comes down to how the police are going to be. I know that it’s an Islamic country with its laws and culture, BUT they also invited the world, so they will need to be flexible. Of course, if fans act like a bunch of jackasses, especially if alcohol gets involved (sneaking it in), then I can understand being harsh. Also, it isn’t just Qataris policing. Kuwait sent a bunch to help keep order along with other Gulf countries. There can also be prejudice involved too. For example, if Egypt loses and their fans get rowdy, things would get ugly. Gulf Arabs can’t stand Egyptians for some reason.

Jodie:
Yes, there are going to be conflicts of many kinds. There will be many attempts to bring in alcohol, and at this point, there is no stopping these problems.

The only way to avoid problems is to prohibit fans attending the games, or turn back fans at the airports who get caught with alcohol, but Qatar won’t do that. The Arab govts. expect world fans to act like Arab citizens, which won’t be happening. It will be a world of problems and acting harshly will make things worse on the world stage for diplomacy and the World Cup, including influencing whether the Cup happening in Arab countries in the future.

The Arab countries rightly expect their nations and its laws to be respected and at the same time, they expect world citizens to act like Arab citizens. This is the mistake – thinking that fans acting like Arab citizens is metaphorically as simple as “everyone” putting on a hijab (a metaphor !) and being abstinent/remaining sober/not drinking, until they return to their own home countries. These are going to be culture clashes.

Unless there is a large amount of restrictions on the number of fans that can come to the games. If the stadiums are half empty, because of (in some way) forced low attendance, there will be fewer problems. But, I see the stadiums full.

And I see, in some instances, unsuccessful effort to prohibit some of the media reporting on this. The authorities won’t make distinctions between some media trying to report and the fans’ disruption.

On a different note – I am seeing no terrorist actions during the World Cup.