Creek / Stockholm. To start the match, the arena was half empty.
Then people flocked to Al Bayt Stadium to see the home team put an end to their record-breaking World Cup.
– It’s full, you have to go out or try the other side, and shoot the guards in the catacombs.
– I’m not allowed to enter because it’s full. There are a lot of people here, but we got promise, says a visiting worker from India.
When the home team entered the home stadium before the match against the Netherlands, the team did so in front of an essentially empty stand. But ten minutes after the ball was released, people suddenly poured onto the ring.
Watchmen call
More than 68,000 seats at Al Bayt Stadium were filled in the blink of an eye and chaos erupted in the stands afterwards. People were standing in droves in all the corridors. Whether inside or outside the arena.
Interpretation of chaos? Migrant workers have been given a special “life card” that allows them to enter the stadiums.
We drive here on buses.
When it turned out that the stadium was not even half full, the doors were opened to the fans who were expelled into the ring with the promise that they would be seated inside the ring.
The man Sportbladet spoke to is very upset about the situation:
– We were taken here on buses, they told us that if we only had the Life Card, we would ride it. I got in during the first half, got out after the first half to pray and now I’m not allowed in because it’s full. There are a lot of people here but we got promises, so everyone went to the buses, says the man who works as a guest from India.
“It’s full, you have to get out.”
When the guards realized the mistake, more chaos erupted in the catacombs. The people who did not enter expressed their disappointment and refused to leave, and then the guards pushed the crowd outside.
– It’s full, you have to go out or try the other side, the guards gasp.
The man the sports paper is talking to threw up his hands in a frustrated gesture:
– At least I saw a little bit of the first half.
The Netherlands won the match 2-0 and advanced to the round of 16 in the World Cup. Qatar concluded the tournament as a historically weak host country, scoring zero (0) points.
