Qatar hits back at attempt to take 2022 World Cup away by blaming concerns on 'petty jealousy'

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have demanded Qatar gives up the 2022 World Cup, but Qatar today said it was 'not up for negotiation'

Qatari officials hit back today at the attempt by rival Middle Eastern countries to take the 2022 World Cup away from them.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have cut off ties from Qatar and blockaded the state, accusing it of supporting terrorism and sowing discord in the region. Now they are trying to put pressure on Qatar’s hosting the 2022 World Cup, demanding that if they give up the tournament – an unlikely scenario – they would lift their sanctions.

But Qatar insisted this morning that there was absolutely no prospect of that happening, and denounced their rivals as trying to undermine not just the tournament but Qatari sovereignty. A statement from the Qatari government communications office said that the boycott was “founded on petty jealousy, not real concerns”.

“Their weak attempts to tie the hosting of the 2022 World Cup to their illegal blockade show their desperation to justify their inhumane action,” the official said. “There has never been a legitimate reason for the illegal blockade of Qatar, and this is further proof of that.”

“This demand is a clear attempt to undermine our independence,” the official continued. “The World Cup, like our sovereignty, is not up for discussion or negotiation.”

The blockade of Qatar started in early June as countries severed diplomatic ties but now they are focusing on the controversial World Cup, to be held in less than five years’ time. In the wake of criticisms of Qatar’s human rights record, as well as the process by which Qatar won the right to host, Qatar’s rivals are turning their attention to the flagship event.

There is no prospect of Qatar surrendering the right to host the tournament and so other critics of Qatar have told them that when they host the tournament they must repudiate their positions that have led to this. Emirati foreign minister Anwar Gargash said that the World Cup must mean a Qatari “repudiation of policies supporting extremism and terrorism”.