November 2 – British police officers deployed in Qatar for the World Cup will not tell fans how to behave, instead acting as “cultural interpreters” between supporters and local authorities, according to Chief Constable Mark Roberts.
Roberts said it is unclear about how exactly Qatar’s police force will treat visitors because of the Gulf state’s strict cultural laws and whether supporters will be criminalised for acts such as displaying rainbow flags.
“The focus is to try and prevent unfortunate misunderstandings where fans inadvertently cause offence,” said Roberts.
“Until we are actually there and the tournament is in full swing we are not certain exactly what the tolerances are. Our officers will be there to engage, speak to local law enforcement about what they find acceptable, and communicate that to supporters. We are not here to judge.”
This is the first World Cup to be held in a Muslim country and the first to be staged in and around a single city – Doha. At least 6,000 England and Wales fans are expected to be among the anticipated 1.2 million visitors.
“What we have to ensure is that those supporters from England and Wales who do travel out there, we are there to support and guide, look after British nationals,” said Roberts. “We are not expecting problems, but supporters should know if they misbehave, they will face sanctions.”
“We learn from every tournament. We are just aware this time around that, because there are those cultural differences, we wanted to send people who are purely focused on fan engagement, focused on that discussion, just to implore supporters, because it is a different environment.”
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