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A TV news reporter has been threatened during a live cross by two Qatari locals as fears over the safety of tourists increase.
Danish reporter Rasmus Tantholdt was doing a cross from the streets of Doha for TV2 NYHEDERNE when he was threatened by two locals.
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With only a roundabout and a football-themed light behind him, Tantholdt was speaking Danish when he explained to two men “we’re live on Danish television”.
One of the men came up to the lens and covered it.
“Mister, you invited the whole world to come here,” he said.
“Why can’t we film? It’s a public place.”
A security guard joined the fray and Tantholdt showed him his accreditation.
“This is the accreditation, we can film anywhere we want,” Tantholdt explained.
It was then the man off-screen threatened to break the camera.
“You want to break it? OK, break the camera,” Tantholdt said. “So you’re threatening us by smashing the camera,” Tantholdt said.
He later revealed he and his network had received an apology from both the Qatar International Media Office and from Qatar Supreme Committee
Journalist Vishnu Prasad posted: “This is not going to go well, is it?”
Writer Peter Cossins wrote: “Good start to the World Cup”.
US Today’s Lindsay Schnell added: “Of course it will. And I’d be worried about worse things happening, too.”
It’s not a great look for Qatar days out from the start of the tournament, after it had been peppered with criticism over it’s human rights record and its strict laws.
Qatar has strict laws regarding alcohol consumption, swearing, taking photos, homosexuality and sex outside of marriage, which many believe will land some in hot water with more than 1 million visitors expected to visit the tiny nation.
Even this week, FIFA’s $A112m alcohol sponsor Budweiser was forced to move tents away from stadiums so as not to make locals uncomfortable.
Earlier this month, FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura declared Qatari people as “the most hospitable people on earth”.
“No matter your race, your religion, your social and sexual orientation, you are most welcome, and Qataris are ready to receive you with the best hospitality that you can imagine,” Samoura said.
“People can consider Qatar as a conservative society, like my own country in Senegal.
“But let me tell you one thing: Qataris are the most hospitable people you can find on earth.”
Australia’s soccer team took a united stand against the Middle Eastern nation in a video condemning its human rights record on the eve of the 2022 World Cup, which kicks off November 20.
Over 6,500 workers are believed to have died while building Qatar’s World Cup stadiums and there also deeply-held concerns about how gay fans will be treated during the tournament.
The video went viral and as 16 Socceroos stars read from a collective statement calling for “effective remedy” to Qatar’s human rights abuses.
However it’s far from the only swipe at Qatar, with former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the Qatar World Cup was a “mistake”.
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