Doha: A Burkinabe supporter was arrested, tried, and then released in Doha after Burkina Faso qualified for the quarter-finals of the U17 World Cup. A young supporter, passionate about football and overflowing with joy after the qualification of the Junior Stallions to the quarter-finals of the U17 World Cup last Tuesday, had been arrested by the Doha Police, but was released after a judgment on Wednesday thanks to the intervention of the Embassy of Burkina Faso in Qatar.
According to Burkina Information Agency, Young Toe was released following a court hearing, one day after his arrest, as stated by Amidou Coulibaly, the acting charge d'affaires of the Burkina Faso embassy in Qatar. The Burkinabe diplomat explained that he faced a fine of nearly 15,000 Qatari riyals (over 2 million CFA francs), along with repatriation.
However, due to the intervention of the embassy and the Burkinabe community in Qatar, the supporter returned home and plans to be at the stadium on Friday to support the Junior Stallions during the U17 World Cup quarter-final between Burkina Faso and Italy.
Last Tuesday, when the Burkina Faso U17 team qualified for the quarterfinals, there was jubilation in the stands and around the pitch. The young supporter managed to slip past the police and crossed the police barrier to join the jubilant players on the field, taking a photo with a young Stallion. This is when the police apprehended him.
'What happened was just the heat of the moment, the passion. He was so happy about this victory against Uganda that he ended up on the field. We called him over to rein him in. If he had touched a member of the opposing team it would have caused us a big problem,' explains Aboubacar Younga, the representative of the elders of the Burkinabe community in Qatar.
He took the opportunity to launch "an awareness message to the rest of the Burkinabe community so that everyone supports the team while respecting police instructions."
In Qatar, in most cases of offenses committed by foreigners, when you are tried, you are subsequently repatriated.