Qatar player banned after social media post during World Cup

Updated Jan. 19, 2023 8:05 a.m. ET

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DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Qatar defender Abdelkarim Hassan was handed an indefinite suspension by the country’s soccer federation on Thursday reportedly following an altercation with a fan over social media.

Qatari media reported that Hassan responded to a complaint on SnapChat about Qatar losing a game during the World Cup the emirate hosted late last year by posting, “Relax, do you think it’s war?”

Hassan was also deducted 50% of his salary, fined 200,000 Qatari riyals ($55,000) and issued a warning by the Qatar Football Association.

In other punishments handed down on Thursday, two more national team players — Bassam al-Rawi, and Mohamed Waad — were fined 100,000 and 50,000 Qatari riyals, respectively, while both had their salaries deducted by 50%.

No reasons were disclosed for those sanctions, which were announced by the federation through its Twitter account based on the report submitted by the department of national teams to the general secretary, the Qatar News Agency said.

Qatar lost to Iraq 2-1 in the semifinals of the Gulf Cup in Basra City on Monday.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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