UAE stops Yemen boxing team from attending Asian Championship

The UAE has refused to grant the Yemeni team participating in the second Asian Boxing Championship visas to enter the country, sources have reported.

Shaaban Al-Omari, the coach of the national junior boxing team, confirmed that the UAE refuses to allow the Yemeni boxing team to enter its territory to participate in the second Asian Championship for junior and youth categories.

Al-Omari added: “Our national team has been stuck in Cairo for four days, while being burdened by the expenses of our stay, due to the Emirati side’s refusal to grant them travel visas.”

The Asian Boxing Championship will be held from 20-30 August in Dubai.

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The UAE’s insistence not to grant entry visas to the Yemeni team constitutes a violation of the laws of the game and the regulations of the Asian and international confederations.

The UAE is a key player in the Yemen war, both operating within the Saudi-led coalition whose aim is to rid the country of the Houthis, while also backing the Southern Transitional Council (STC) which hope to government the country in the place of the internationally backed government which is currently exiled to Saudi.