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Sports body condemns threat to close Al Jazeera

June 29, 2017 at 5:09 pm

Al Jazeera newsroom [Joshua Debner/Flickr]

The International Sports Press Association (AIPS) has condemned a request by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE for Qatar to close Al Jazeera and all its affiliated networks including the sports network beIN.

“AIPS will never accept the principle that politics can limit the freedom of expression and free initiative in the field of information in any part of the world. As has been emphasised, the sports media cannot be subjected to any condition by any authority who wants to control it,” the association said in a statement.

“AIPS cannot accept the behaviour of coaches and players who have refused to speak with journalists representing beIN during international events.”

Read: Crown Prince of UAE asked Americans to bomb Al Jazeera headquarters Wikileaks reveals

“AIPS has had excellent experiences in the Gulf. Qatar has hosted two AIPS Congresses, in 2006 and 2016, two Executive Committee meetings, and three Young Reporters Programme, with the latest in May of this year in cooperation with the IAAF Diamond League,” said Gianni Merlo, AIPS president said.

“A generation of young colleagues is likely to suffer, which is unacceptable. We are certain that this is a point we can all agree on and we hope that dialogue will overwhelm dangerous winds of war,” he added.