‘Dry’ World Cup? Not quite but in Doha fans feel safer

Unless you are looking for it, you can miss the juices and mocktails. It is in the bottom corner above cigarettes in the red-and-white hard paper list that opens into three pages when unfolded. There are six brands of beer; 30 brands of whiskey spread across categories such as American, Canadian, Irish, regular, premium and single malts; brandy and cognac; vodka; rum; tequila; gin; liqueur; wines white and red; cocktails and shooters.

A can of beer is 40 riyals, a 30ml peg of premium whiskey can go up to 300 riyals, vodkas range from 50 to 66 riyals and rum is priced at a flat 50 riyals. (One Qatari riyal is approximately Rs.22.6.). “We have offers,” said one of the waiting staff. “You can buy a bottle and come back another day to finish it.” The man said he was from Maharashtra.

Studio discussions on the World Cup or clips of group stage games played on mute, two deejays cranked up the volume with remixes, strobe lights blinked and bouncers in black suits stared into the middle distance in the spacious bar. Nearly half of the 60-odd covers were occupied, mostly by men, on a mid-week evening in a country where Friday and Saturday are weekends and Sunday a full working day.

Normal service in a country that’s hosing the World Cup, right? Not quite. In the Islamic state of Qatar, unlike in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates where it is banned, alcohol is restricted. Visitors to Qatar are not allowed to carry alcohol but there are duty free stores selling liquor in the departure areas of airports. Drinking in public and being drunk are both punishable by law.

It has led to a tournament shorn of public washrooms clogged with vomit – like it was on the train from Munich to Berlin two days before the 2006 final. People passed out on pavements, rowdy celebrations that would sometimes degenerate into lewd comments and incidents of violence fuelled by heavy drinking that dot major football tournaments.

Some of the recent examples are: Marseille 2016 when England and Russia fans clashed; Sao Paulo 2014 when Brazilians attacked English fans needing them to be taken to hospital and the storming of the Maracana by Chilean supporters at the same tournament; fisticuffs between fans of Brazil and Serbia in Moscow in 2018; an English fan was so drunk in Moscow that he could not spell his name and this was before the World Cup began.

This bar in the ground floor of a hotel at Al Mansoura is among the nearly 200 places in Doha where you can drink. World Cup visitors need to have their Hayya Card, the entry permit to the country that is also a free bus and metro pass and offers discounted rates for museum visits, scanned at the entrance.

Those with permits can also buy liquor at the Qatar Distribution Company (QDC) store in Abu Hamour. Getting a permit involves sharing personal information with QDC before seeking an appointment. At the QDC store, 24 cans of beer are available for approximately 470 riyals. QDC is under Qatar Airways and only the national carrier is allowed to distribute alcohol in the country.

Beer and wine are also available at the sprawling Qatar National Convention Centre in Al Rayyan where the main media centre is located. Fan zones too serve beer but only 500ml Budweiser, a FIFA partner, cans are available for 50 riyals. White men with beer cans can be seen near smoking bays late in the night at FIFA accommodations in Al Sadd and elsewhere.

In a last-minute U-turn, FIFA also removed beer gardens from the eight stadiums hosting World Cup games where only the non-alcoholic Bud Zero is available. Coming so close to the November 20 start, the decision caused a stir though FIFA president Gianni Infantino, after explaining that an attempt was made till the end to serve beer at games, had said: “If this is the biggest issue of this World Cup, I will go to the beach and relax.”

At a press conference before the tournament, Infantino had said the same no-alcohol rule applied to football venues in France, Spain, Scotland and Portugal. Beer has been available at World Cup stadiums though.

One day into the tournament, a Qatari was quoted as saying in Al Jazeera that while all are welcome, it is important for visitors to respect the rules of this country. “Qatar is an Islamic country, and alcohol is ‘haram’ (forbidden) in our religion. All we ask is for the world to show some ‘ehtaram’ (respect) for our culture.”

Absence of alcohol at stadiums has led to a better experience, said some fans. “This World Cup has shown that it is possible,” said Hubert Bichel, a volunteer from Stuttgart. “I celebrated a Morocco win with a group of fans with lots of milkshake and we had a good time.”

According to Todd Bechtel, who said he was from Dallas, “no alcohol means people do stupid things less.” In white thobes that had colours of the USA flag splashed in front, Bechtel was with friend Ray Stafin at the USA-Iran game on November 29 at Al Thumama Stadium. Stafin, who said he as from Dallas, said it made him feel safer.

“I have seen enough drunks at football grounds and I don’t miss them,” said Dorothy Jones, who said she was from Ottawa before the Croatia-Belgium game on December 1 at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.

Speaking after the Khalifa Stadium after Netherlands beat USA 3-1 on December 3, Trevor said: “No beer means 50-year-old men like me don’t have to keep running to the bathroom and incidents that could mar your experience avoided.” Trevor gave only one name and said he was from Ontario. He was here with two teenaged daughters and wife on a nine-day World Cup holiday.

Going around the mixed zone after Australia beat Tunisia was the question: Would you celebrate with a few cans of Bud Zero? That was Australia’s first win in 12 years in a competition which, as it hits the homestretch, has shown that a ‘dry’ World Cup can be an enjoyable experience.