Indian fans of the English football team might have landed in Qatar to cheer for their favourite team and captain Harry Kane, but it soon turned into disappointment for them as they were branded ‘fake fans’ by many social media accounts and media.
Indian fans clamoured to get a good view of the English team staying at the five-star Souq Al Wakra hotel in Doha. They banged drums, blew trumpets, and cheered ‘England! England!’ in celebration. They even cheered for Gareth Southgate, who coached the team. “Southgate is our super coach! Sterling is our super star! Pickford is our super keeper” and “It’s coming home!” were some of the chants from the fans.
But many social media accounts suggested that the Qataris paid locals to dress up and create some excitement. They have been accused of paying locals to pretend to be Agrentinian, English, Brazilian, German fans and more. The fans have refuted the claims, and said that they were not paid to support anyone.
The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee rejected accusations of these fans being fake. The Guardian spoke to many fans who said they were from Kerala. The committee said in a statement, “Fans from all over the world – many of whom have made Qatar their home – have contributed to the local atmosphere recently, organising fan walks and parades throughout the country, and welcoming the various national teams at their hotels.”
Numerous journalists and commentators on social media have questioned whether these are ‘real’ fans, said the committee, further adding that they ‘thoroughly reject’ these claims, and called them both ‘disappointing and unsurprising’.
One fan told the news site that they are not getting paid, and even if they were, they would turn them down. “We are diehard England fans. My favourite player was Beckham, but now it is Saka. If someone offered to pay us to support England we would turn them down. We are genuine supporters. Many of us grew up watching Beckham and Michael Owen. Our love is to this team.”
In another TikTok video that reportedly shows a glimpse of the accommodation, white tents can be seen on the sides of a road. Each tent has a flag of a competing country, and has two basic single beds, separated by a cabinet.
