Ali Issa Ahmad claims that he was beaten by security forces for wearing a Qatar national team shirt like the one worn here by the midfielder Abdelaziz Hatim, right REUTERSThe authorities in the United Arab Emirates have denied arresting a British football fan for wearing a Qatar national football shirt during the recent Asian Cup football tournament. A friend of Ali Issa Ahmad, 26, an Arsenal fan from Wolverhampton who “loves all football”, claimed that he was beaten by security forces after Qatar played Iraq in the capital Abu Dhabi last month, and then arrested after reporting the incident to police. However, the UAE embassy in London released a statement overnight saying that Mr Ahmad was “categorically not arrested” for wearing a Qatar shirt. It said that he had reported being harassed and beaten up by UAE football fans for supporting Qatar, but that when taken to hospital a doctor “concluded that his injuries…

Source: The Times February 06, 2019 12:09 UTC