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A Danish reporter refused to remove his ‘OneLove’ anti-discrimination armband ahead of his live TV report when a Qatari official ordered him to.
Jon Pagh, a journalist for Danish broadcaster TV2, stood in defiance against the official and refused to adhere to his order to remove the anti-discrimination and LGBT rights symbol from his arm.
Pagh was getting ready to do a TV report about Denmark’s World Cup match against Tunisia when the Qatari official approached him and told him to remove the armband – but the Danish reporter refused.
The armbands have been viewed as a symbolic protest against laws in World Cup host Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal.
Pagh’s refusal to remove the rainbow-themed armband came days after another Danish journalist from TV2, Rasmus Tantholdt, was forced off-air after Qatari security staff threatened to destroy his camera if he did not stop filming.
Jon Pagh, a journalist for Danish broadcaster TV2, stood in defiance against the official and refused to adhere to his order to remove the anti-discrimination and LGBT rights symbol from his arm
Pagh was about to start a TV report when a Qatari official approached him and told him to remove the armband
The Qatari official, becoming agitating, then told the TV crew to stop filming before thrusting his hand over the camera
The dispute came days after another Danish journalist from TV2, Rasmus Tantholdt, was forced off-air after Qatari security staff threatened to destroy his camera if he did not stop filming (pictured)
And now, in the latest example of Qatari officials cracking down on the media and those who wear the OneLove armband, Pagh was ordered to remove the symbol from his arm before starting a TV report.
In an exchange that was filmed by TV2 film crew, Pagh told the official: ‘I understand that you’re telling me that, but I can’t take it off.’
Pagh, reaching for his OneLove armband, asked: ‘Why is this not allowed?’
The official then said something to Pagh, but it is inaudible because he has his hand over his mouth.
Pagh responded: ‘It’s because of the colours? But this just says One Love.’
The Qatari official, becoming agitating, then told the TV crew to stop filming before thrusting his hand over the camera.
A defiant Pagh continued: ‘It just says one love. It’s respecting everybody. Look, I respect that you’re telling me this.’
The Qatari official then walked off, leaving Pagh looking at the camera with incredulity.
A defiant Pagh continued: ‘It just says one love. It’s respecting everybody. Look, I respect that you’re telling me this’
The Qatari official then walked off, leaving Pagh looking at the camera with incredulity
Pagh was getting ready to do a TV report about Denmark’s World Cup match against Tunisia when the Qatari official approached him and told him to remove the armband – but the Danish reporter refused
Denmark’s football team was also planning to wear the ‘One Love’ anti-discrimination armband along with other European teams such as England and Wales before the campaign was dropped when FIFA threatened to hand out yellow cards.
But in an act of defiance, former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is now chair of the Danish football federation’s governance and development committee, wore a coat with rainbow coloured sleeves while watching Denmark’s match against Tunisia from inside the stadium.
Denmark has been one of the most outspoken critics of the tournament in Qatar and during the pre-match warmup its players wore all black long-sleeve shirts over their red game jerseys to mourn migrant workers who died building infrastructure for the World Cup.
Qatar has been heavily criticised and scrutinised over human rights violations and its attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community since it was handed the rights to the 2022 World Cup 12 years ago.
But in another act of defiance by Denmark, former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is now chair of the Danish football federation’s governance and development committee, wore a coat with rainbow coloured sleeves while watching Denmark’s match against Tunisia from inside the stadium
Last week, Qatar faced further scrutiny after it emerged that Qatari officials had threated a Danish reporter while live on air.
Reporting from Qatar days before the opening match of the FIFA World Cup, TV2 reporter Rasmus Tantholdt was speaking as part of a live broadcast when he was approached by security staff that had appeared on a golf buggy.
It quickly became apparent that he was not welcome to film and he was quickly threatened with having his camera smashed and destroyed.
The clip, which has gone viral across social media, showed Tantholdt switching to English to ask for clarifications on where he was allegedly misconstruing any rules on filming in Qatar.
‘You have invited the whole world here. Why can’t we film? It is a public place,’ he said.
He quickly presented his press accreditation on his phone, reaffirming their permissions to film but as one man grapples with the lens of the camera, a security guard claims the camera will be destroyed if they do not stop filming.
The Danes show their press accreditation and say they have permission to film. Then the guards follow up with a threat. If they don’t stop filming, they will destroy the camera.
‘You can break the camera,’ he added. ‘You want to break it? Go ahead. You’re threatening us by breaking the camera.’
Tantholdt seen showing his press accreditation before claiming he does not need a permit
Security officials took issue with him filming and soon threatening to destroy his camera
A security guard tries to explain that he is unable to film, despite his accreditation pass
Speaking from Qatar to Norwegian outlet NRK, Tantholdt confirmed he had since been given an apology by delegates in Qatar but the fact he was stopped during a live broadcast raises a number of concerns for him.
‘I don’t think the message from the top in Qatar has reached all the security guards,’ he was quoted as saying.
‘Therefore, one can argue that there are some who have misunderstood the situation, but at the same time it tells a lot about what it is like in Qatar. There it is that you can be attacked and threatened when you report as a free media.’
‘This is not a free and democratic country,’ he added. ‘My experience after visiting 110 countries in the world is: The more you have to hide, the more difficult it is to report from there.’
Qatari officials (pictured) arrived on a golf buggy while the live broadcast was going on
It is also not the first time reporters have had issues trying to report freely and openly in Qatar.
Norwegian outlet NRK endured their own issues when reporting from Qatar last year.
Two of their journalists, Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani, were arrested and subsequently were imprisoned in Qatar over claims that the pair had been filming on private land.
They were held for around 30 hours before they were released and sent back to Norway.
Back in November last year, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre described the treatment of reporters in the Gulf State as ‘unacceptable’.
‘A free press is crucial to a functioning democracy,’ he added.
It appears there are still problems for reporters just days out from the start of the tournament.
American writer Grant Wahl had his own run-in with security staff having been told to delete a photo he had taken in the media centre.
Detailing the story on his Twitter account, Wahl wrote: ‘I took a picture of the Qatar World Cup slogan on the wall of the media center today – and a security guard came over and demanded that I delete it from my phone. Is that how this World Cup is going to work?’
He was told that a ‘picture is not allowed’ before he protested that he was simply taking a photo.
‘Kindly delete it, sir,’ came the reply.