Argentina fans desperate to see their team in action in Sunday's World Cup final have issued a plea to football authorities, as touts attempt to sell tickets for up to Dh11,000 ($3,000) on the black market.
Dozens of fans waited at Fifa's official ticket centre in central Doha on Friday for up to six hours, after rumours that up to 10,000 additional tickets would be made available for the clash with reigning champions France.
The Buenos Aires Times on Friday reported that supporters had also held protests outside a Doha hotel on Thursday and Friday to call for the Argentine Football Association to ensure tickets were available.
The South Americans have been among the best supported sides in Qatar, often turning stadiums and fan zones into a sea of light blue and white on match days.
Aerolineas Argentinas, the country's national airline, laid on extra flights after the 3-0 semi-final win over Croatia on Tuesday, to meet the huge demand from fans prepared to make the 19-hour journey.
Gathering at the ticket office on Friday, fans urged football authorities to help them get to final of football's showpiece, at the 88,000-capacity Lusail Stadium in central Doha.
World Cup final frenzy
“We are chanting outside the Fifa ticketing centre because we need final tickets. We are urging AFA to speak to Fifa to provide tickets for us,” said supporter Emiliano Aguilera.
“We are not asking them to provide tickets for free but to buy at the Fifa original price.”
Mr Aguilera, 32, who flew from Ireland with a one-way ticket to attend the quarter-final match against the Netherlands on December 9, said he had waited for several hours on Thursday in hope of securing a ticket.
“As Argentina passed to the final, many Argentina fans booked their flights to Doha to support the team,” Mr Aguilera added.
“I will stand outside Lusail Stadium until the last minute.”
Among the fans gathered, there was a tout selling tickets for $3,000.
Qatari authorities have previously warned that anyone who sells or exchanges tickets for the World Cup without permission from Fifa will face a fine of up to 250,000 Qatari riyals ($69,000).
Fans refuse to give up hope
Carolina Gimenez said she has been waiting for four hours outside the ticket centre, while her husband went with friends in search of tickets elsewhere.
“I’m here waiting to see if Fifa will sell match tickets for people who have been for one month supporting and cheering for the Argentina team. We will do everything to be in the stadium,” Ms Gimenez told The National.
“They told us here that they have no tickets but there was a rumour that they have 10,000 tickets they will be selling today but so far nothing. It is crazy.”
Fellow fan Juan Carlos, 43, had waited hours in vain, but had not lost of hope of witnessing Argentina's attempt to lift a third World Cup.
“I came here in the hope of getting match tickets but there are no tickets for sale here,” he said.
“I spent a lot of money and left a lot of things behind back home. I have got to do anything I can to get the ticket. There was talk of Fifa releasing 10,000 tickets soon. This is why we are here.”
Federico Delaney, 47, who flew from Miami to be in Doha in time for the quarter-finals, was another Argentina fan left disappointed.
“I managed to support the team in the Croatia match. We want to see the final but they told us there are no tickets. The resale prices are crazy high and we are waiting for any news from AFA and Fifa,” he said.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
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SPEC SHEET
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Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
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The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
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The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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if you go
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Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
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Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
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