Though the Arab World is proud to host the World Cup on its soil, Qatar’s support for the revolutions which ousted a number of dictators in the region will not be forgotten, the son of former dictator of Egypt Hosni Mubarak said yesterday.
Taking to Twitter Alaa Mubarak wrote: “A great success that we are all proud of to have the first World Cup on Arab soil in Qatar, but we will not forget that it rode the wave of the Arab Spring and adopted a destructive project to fragment the region from within and mislead public opinion through its flags and its role in supporting a terrorist group. It was a haven for them after their escape.”
His message is thought to refer to Qatar’s hosting of leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which came into power after the ousting of his father in a popular uprising but was later removed in a military coup by current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
For years, relations between Egypt and Qatar were strained after the overthrow of the late President Mohamed Morsi, who stemmed from the Brotherhood.
In early 2021, Cairo and Doha signed the Al-Ula agreement that put an end to the boycott of Qatar by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.