TikTok comedian Jon-Bernard Kairouz exposes fake fans paid to support Brazil at 2022 World Cup
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An Australian comedian has confronted Indian and Bangladeshi fans at the World Cup for wearing Brazilian jerseys, accusing them of being ‘fake’ when videos surfaced of identikit fans wearing shirts from different countries.
Jon-Bernard Kairouz took to the streets of Qatar to confront supporters in a video titled ‘World Cup Fake Fans’, following Brazil’s opening match with Serbia.
It comes after videos shared online show large groups of men, mostly of Indian and Bangladeshi descent, wearing the colors of national teams, including England, Brazil, Germany and Argentina, sparking speculation they were ‘hired’ by Qatar to create atmosphere create for the competition.
Moreover, The protector reports that the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy – the agency responsible for delivering the Qatar World Cup – has created The Fan Leader Network, a program used to recruit fans. Qatar and FIFA deny the claims.
Kairouz asks if the “fans” are from Brazil, each explaining they are from Bangladesh or India, in a video shared on TikTok on Saturday.
Kairouz, asks the fans, “Did FIFA pay you to be here?”
Without hesitation, the fans replied ‘yes’, with one of them explaining that he is ‘actually an Argentina fan’ but was paid to support Brazil.
Australian comedian Jon-Bernard Kairouz (pictured, left in left and right) interviewed fans donning Brazilian jerseys outside a football stadium in Qatar. The men, who hail from Bangladesh and India, admitted to being paid by FIFA to attend the match
When asked to pick their favorite player from Brazil’s line-up, the men named one player, 30-year-old striker Neymar.
The men were stunned when Kairouz asked them to name another player from the country selection.
“I don’t know,” said a man.
“Frankly, I don’t know anything about this,” said another.
A third added: ‘actually no, I’m not a football fan, I’m a cricket fan.’
The video was shared among his 13.3 million followers, sparking a huge debate after Kairouz suggested they were fake.
Some claimed that the men were not explicitly paid to attend the games, but were given free tickets after working on the construction of the stadiums.
“What they meant by saying FIFA paid them to be there is that most of them are construction workers and came to Qatar to work,” one user wrote.
“These guys helped build the stadiums and got tickets,” said a second user.
A third added: “A lot of these guys worked construction there and probably get a free pass.”
A man said he was ‘actually an Argentina fan’ but was paid to support Brazil, before telling Kairouz he was not a football fan but rather a cricket fan
The men all named Neymar as their favorite player, but were stunned when Kairouz asked them to identify another player in Brazil’s line-up.
Others questioned whether the edited video was true and argued that fans should be allowed to support a team regardless of the country they are from.
‘The video is shortened and edited between the interviews. Not sure if this is true,” commented one user.
“Why do you call them ‘fake fans’, it doesn’t matter where they come from, if they support Brazil, they support Brazil, who are you to call them ‘fake’,” another user wrote.
“I’m from Afghanistan and I’m a fan of the Brazilian football team,” added another.
A TikTok user, who is from Bangladesh, explained that Brazil and Argentina are the two favorite football teams in the country, hence there are many Bangladeshi Brazilian supporters in Qatar.
It comes after footage has emerged of several ‘fan parades’ in Doha, including celebrations with supporters supposedly from England, Brazil, Argentina and several other countries.
But fans were skeptical, with some accusing Qatari authorities of paying migrant workers to dress up in support of various nations, something Qatar strongly denies.
Qatar has denied claims it paid for fake fans, arguing that football was hugely popular with the Indian community
The government of Qatar claims that the large Indian population in the country are real football fans who support various national teams from around the world.
Gianni Infantino earlier this month dismissed suggestions that the fans were fake as racist in a press where he defended the Qatari regime and accused Europeans of double standards.
In an extraordinary one-hour speech, the FIFA president said: “I read that these people don’t look English, so they can’t cheer for England, they look like Indians. What is that? Can someone who looks Indian not cheer for England, Spain or Germany?
‘You know what it is? It’s racist, pure racist.’
He also said: ‘I think for what we Europeans have done over the past 3,000 years, we should apologize for the next 3,000 years before we start teaching people moral lessons.
FIFA president called allegations fans were paid to show support ‘pure racist’
Gianni Infantino denounced allegations that Indian football supporters were paid actors
“Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel handicapped. Today I feel (like) a migrant worker.
“Of course I’m not Qatari, I’m not Arab, I’m not African, I’m not gay, I’m not disabled. But I’m looking forward to it, because I know what it means to be discriminated against, to be bullied, as a foreigner in a foreign country. As a child I was bullied – because I had red hair and freckles, and I was Italian, imagine.
‘What are you doing then? You try to get involved, make friends. Don’t start accusing, fighting, insulting, you start to engage. And this is what we should do.’
World Cup CEO Nasser Al Khater claimed that football was extremely popular with Indians in Qatar and rejected the idea that fans were fake.
He said: ‘We have a lot of real supporters in Qatar who are from the south of India who love football and they are real fans.
“They are real football fans.”