Alwaght- United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed refused to attend Asian Cup 2019 closing ceremony after Qatar won the tournament.
According to a report by, The New Arab, not a single senior UAE official was present to hand medals to the victorious Qatar football team in the closing ceremony of the Asian Cup 2019. On Friday, Qatar beat Japan 3-1 to clinch the Asian Cup 2019 hosted by the UAE.
Elaborate plans to feature some of the region's biggest stars including Hussein al-Jesmi were also scrapped at the last minute, according to reports.
Had another team won, it is likely that UAE Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed would have personally awarded the top prize in the continent's premier prestige football event.
Though the ongoing Saudi-Emirati blockade made it nearly impossible for Qatar fans to be at the competition - even the team themselves were not allowed to fly direct to the UAE and had to travel via Kuwait - a small group of Omani fans had supported the Annabis throughout the tournament.
While there was no playing of the Qatar national anthem, the team ran from the prize-giving podium to celebrate with their fans from Oman, and several players waved Omani flags alongside those of Qatar in thanks to the travelling supporters.
Qatar, the dark horses of the Asian Cup 2019, won the tournament after a remarkable record-breaking run that saw the team concede just one goal.
The trophy was handed to Qatar's winning team by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, while AFC officials were also well represented among the awarding party.
UAE dignitaries were notable by their absence from the podium, with the country having undertaken a number of attempts to end Qatar's run in the tournament - from block-buying 18,000 tickets to the semi-final, ensuring few if any Qatar fans could get a seat, to complaining bitterly about the eligibility of Qatari players.
This comes amid an ongoing dispute which began in June 2017, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed a land, sea and air blockade, after accusing Doha of supporting "terrorism". Qatar continues to vehemently reject the allegations as "baseless".
On June 22, the block, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, issued a 13-point list of demands, including the shutdown of Al Jazeera TV, limiting ties with Iran, and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country as a prerequisite to lifting the blockade.
Qatar rejected all the demands, denouncing them as attempts to violate its sovereignty.
