The home fans didn’t react too well as the hosts were dumped out of the tournament
Shoes and bottles were thrown at Qatar players by fans as ugly scenes marked United Arab Emirates’ exit from the Asian Cup at the semi-final stage.
Tension between the two countries has been building in recent months with UAE being among several Arab nations to cut off Qatar over its alleged support for terrorism.
UAE fans made their feelings clear even before the match started as they booed the Qatar national anthem.
But it wasn’t until tournament top scorer Almoez Ali scored Qatar’s second goal in the 37th minute that the missiles started, with his goal celebration being interrupted by shoes being thrown from the crowd.
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From that point on, Qatari corner takers regularly had to deal with projectiles being thrown from the crowd – and their third and fourth goals were also met with a hail of missiles.
A thrown shoe is a severe insult in many Middle Eastern countries, signifying that the target is worse than dirt on the bottom of the shoe.
Qatar’s victory saw them qualify for their first Asian Cup final where they will meet four-time champions Japan in Abu Dhabi on February 1.