In the Champions League, the Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa can look forward to an attractive group: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus Turin and Benfica Lisbon are the opponents. The Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports prefers to keep this information to itself on selected channels.
For the followers of the Arabic-language Twitter accounts of the largely state-funded Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports, the draw for the Champions League group stage ended in a big surprise. With a historically unique event in the history of the premier class: One of the 32 qualified teams was not drawn from the four pots, one team is missing in a group. For example, beIN Sports announced to its readers in Arabic that Group H consists only of Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus Turin and Benfica Lisbon.
In reality, of course, it’s different: the team that was lost at the broadcaster is called Maccabi Haifa, the Israeli champions were drawn as the last team in Group G. According to all other beIN Sports Twitter accounts, Maccabi Haifa is still missing from the Middle East and North Africa branches the day after the worldwide draw. The club’s coat of arms only appears in the appropriate place on a graphic with an overview of all groups. Qatar and Israel do not have diplomatic relations. Last year, however, Qatar acted as a mediator to end the war between Israel and the ruling Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The relationship between Qatar and Israel is comparatively good in everyday sport, Israeli athletes take part in competitions in Qatar, and the national anthem of the state is played if they are successful.
In less than three months, the controversial soccer World Cup will begin in Qatar. Israelis can actually only enter Qatar if they have another citizenship. In June, Israeli ministers announced that after months of intensive contacts, an agreement had been reached allowing Israeli fans to travel to Qatar for the World Cup. Israeli Foreign Minister Jair Lapid spoke of a “diplomatic success that makes the fans happy”. The love of football and sport brings people and countries together, “and the World Cup in November will open up another gateway for warm, new relationships.” Although the Israeli team has not qualified for the finals, thousands of Israeli fans are expected.
General director of the beIN Media Group is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the channel operates from Doha, the capital of the Emirate of Qatar. Al-Khelaifi is a close confidant of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and holds numerous positions in sport: Al-Khelaifi heads the ECA, the association of major European clubs, and has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2019 the UEFA.
And then of course there is PSG: as CEO, the multifunctional Al-Khelaifi also orchestrates the work of the French champions Paris Saint-Germain, who have been heavily armed with hundreds of Qatari oil millions. Until November, the club will play twice against Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League. BeIN Sports, which was founded as a subsidiary of the state broadcaster Al Jazeera and is equipped with enormous funds from the royal family, has risen within a few years to become one of the world’s most powerful holders of sports rights.
(This article was first published on Friday, August 26, 2022.)
