Qatari broadcasters beIN Sports and Al Jazeera "have been blocked in the UAE after a diplomatic stand-off between the countries came to a head," according to Nadeem Hanif of THE NATIONAL. The sports channels and news channels "were off air from Monday night as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar over the state's links to terror groups." BeIN has the sole rights in the Middle East to broadcast the English Premier League, La Liga and tournaments such as the World Cup, and "the political row has put a question mark over Qatar's ability to host" the 2022 World Cup. Access to the websites of beIN and Al Jazeera also "appear to have been blocked." Philip Johnstone, from the U.K., who subscribes to telecom Etisalat's eLife package, said, "I think it got blocked sometime on Monday" (THE NATIONAL, 6/6). GULF NEWS' Mariam M. Al Serkal reported it is "unclear how long the beIN channels will remain off the air." UAE telecom du said, "We would like to confirm the services of beIN Sports are currently suspended. Our customer service teams will be in touch with all affected customers." BeIN Sports was not available for comment. An automated message at Etisalat's customer care center on Tuesday reportedly said that beIN sports channels and the Al Jazeera news channel "were no longer available on eLife television" (GULF NEWS, 6/6). BROADBAND TV NEWS' Robert Briel reported Al Jazeera is "regarded by many as a tool for furthering Qatari foreign policy and promoting the views of Islamist groups that the monarchy has backed in recent years" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 6/6). INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL's Andrew Warshaw reported in another development, former Tottenham and French side Olympique de Marseille footballer Mido, now manager of Egyptian Premier League side Wadi Degla, "stepped down from his role as a pundit" for beIN Sports. Mido said on Twitter, "Today I apologize I can't continue working at beIN sports" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 6/6).
CLUB BOYCOTT: In Cairo, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported Egypt's decision to sever ties with Qatar "cast a shadow on the sports media in Egypt as sports clubs take action." Egyptian Premier League club Ahly Chair Mahmoud Taher announced the "boycott" of beIN Sports. He said that none of the club's footballers "should appear on the channel," adding that the channel "cannot be prevented from broadcasting the club's matches" in the Confederation of African Football Champions League, as the channel obtained the broadcasting rights from the CAF. Meanwhile, Zamalek Chair Mortada Mansour said that the channel's "cameras will not be allowed access to air the match" between Zamalek and Libyan club Al Ahli Tripoli (EGYPT INDEPENDENT, 6/6).
