Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Qatar. But because Israeli football fans can’t watch this year’s World Cup, how does that happen? FIFA had already decided on the arrangement for the Israelis to go to Qatar to watch the World Cup by talking to Qatar. Qatar also has no objection. Israeli football fans can enter Qatar with a fan ticket or an Israeli passport. But there is a problem with online ticketing. There the company in charge of selling tickets did not mention the country named ‘Israel’. “Occupied Palestinian Territory” was not given the name “Israel”. Because of that, Israeli football fans were forced to buy tickets as ‘Palestinians’.
Hong Kong-based company Winterhill Hospitality is selling World Cup tickets online through FIFA. After starting the ticket booking process, it is seen that some countries are not named. Along with Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, the name of Israel also disappeared. This has caused a strong reaction among the citizens of the countries. Citizens of Israel are increasingly upset about their country’s name being changed to ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories. A complaint has also been reported to FIFA. Israelis demand that they get the same privileges and status as citizens of other countries in Qatar.
FIFA has taken a strong position in this regard. Israel’s name was added online. The Winterhill Hospitality sales representative wrote ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory has been sacked.
In addition to the entry of Israeli citizens into Qatar, FIFA has also arranged for them to travel by air from Tel Aviv to Doha and other Qatari cities. An aviation agreement has also been signed between FIFA and Qatar in this regard.
