UAE stop Britain "wearing the Qatar team jersey"

The UAE authorities arrested a Briton following reports that he was allegedly attacked for wearing the 2019 Asian Cup football jersey of the Qatar national team.

Ali Issa Ahmed, a 26-year-old Briton from Wolverhampton, was unaware of Emirati law, which criminalizes "showing empathy" with Qatar, which is facing a diplomatic crisis and boycotting the Gulf states, including the Emirates.

A friend of the arrested young man said his friend was later charged with making false allegations about the perpetrators and claiming to have been assaulted.

The UK Foreign Office said it was providing assistance to a British citizen and was in contact with the UAE authorities.

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Qatar and its Gulf neighbors (the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia), as well as Egypt, have been accused of destabilizing and supporting terrorist organizations in the region and breaking off diplomatic ties and policies with Doha.

"To show sympathy for Qatar via social media or any other means of communication is a crime," warned the British Foreign Ministry on its website since the June 2017 announcement.

According to the Guardian newspaper, Britain's Ali Issa Ahmed was on holiday in the United Arab Emirates. He was arrested after Qatar's victory over Iraq in the match they played in Abu Dhabi on January 22nd.

A friend told the Guardian that his friend was assaulted by security guards after his release.

He reportedly went to the police station to report the incident and was arrested and charged with lying.

The United Arab Emirates Embassy in London said it was not able to specifically comment on the case, but said that "allegations of human rights violations are taken seriously and are making the subject of a thorough investigation ".

"While more than 1.5 million British citizens visit the UAE each year, we are a country that respects the rule of law and individuals," said a spokesman for the embassy.

Throw shoes

The boycott of Qatar by four countries and the closure of its airspace, sea and land to lead Qatari transport from Doha led to the presence of some Qatari supporters in the United Arab Emirates during the Asian Cup.

The UAE-Qatar semifinal angered UAE supporters, who threw shoes at the Qataris after a goal against their team.

Qatar won the championship after beating Japan 3-1 in the final on 1 February.