England fans face death penalty if they are caught smuggling cocaine to the World Cup in Qatar
ENGLAND fans could face the death penalty if they are caught smuggling cocaine to the World Cup in Qatar.
The 2022 hosts make “no exceptions” on foreigners breaking their laws, with drug use an area they are extremely hot on.
The warning of “arbitrary arrest” is hoped to reduce cocaine use at the tournament, as the festival of football makes its winter debut.
The threat to travelling supporters carries to those who are also near people doing drugs, who may not be partaking themselves.
The news comes as the drug has been mentioned as a factor for increasing amounts of incidents at football matches.
An eyewitness to the unsavoury scenes around the Euro 2020 final at Wembley stated how the drug was involved in the commotion.
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They said: “People were taking cocaine in front of us and smoking drugs behind us. My sons cried for most of the game, scared by the events surrounding us.”
The open use of drugs including cocaine was admitted to being “a factor” in the bad behaviour at games by Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chief Council’s lead for Football Policing.
Roberts went on to confirm that UK police will be cooperating with Qatari officials to snuff out any smugglers at the tournament.
He told the Daily Star: “Any fans seen to be misbehaving could also be subject to a football banning order on their return to the UK, as well as being arrested and potentially charged for offences committed in Qatar.”
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Fifa will be keen to keep high-profile games free of incident, after some of the year’s biggest matches have been tarred by off the field antics.
The Champions League final in Paris last month was another notable occasion which was tarnished by pre-game incidents, with kick-off being delayed by more than half an hour.