A huge police presence will encrust the Qatar World Cup, as FIFA and the Gulf nation attempt to stop any football hooliganism or terrorism during the controversial tournament.
In anticipation of approximately 1.2million fans from around the world descending on Qatar, authorities have put together a patchwork police force to consisting of officers from the United States, Britain, Turkey, France South Korea, Italy and Pakistan. As part of 'Operation World Cup Shield', the cops are set to provide mass security at the eight stadiums hosting matches in Doha and at every hotel in which the 32 national teams are staying.
According to The Sun, police units such as Turkey's renowned special operations unit, the Polis-Ozel-Harekat, and the French riot forces who were behind the tear-gassing of Liverpool fans before last season's Champions League final will be tasked with keeping punters in line from when the football kicks off on Sunday, November 20.
Not only are Turkey supplying 3,000 riot police, but the country has even offered its own warship to bolster security at the World Cup over six months. The TCG Burgazad, backed by 250 troops, has already been deployed to Doha in the past month.
Turkey will reportedly send 100 special operations police, 50 bomb specialists as well as 80 sniffer dogs and riot dogs to monitor potential terrorist activity. They'll also be taking charge of the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence operations at the tournament.
A Turkish source told Reuters : "During the tournament, Turkish police will only take orders from their Turkish superiors who are serving temporarily in Qatar." The Qatari side will not be able to give direct orders to the Turkish police. All expenses of the personnel deployed... will be covered by the state of Qatar."
The UK, whose forces carry out drills with their Qatari counterparts on a regular basis, will send units from the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force as part of the counter-terrorism efforts. Acting as a buffer between fans and local forces, among their tasks will be to "de-escalate" issues during the 22nd World Cup.
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French officers who specialise in anti-drone policing make up the bulk of their own force. Among the 191 members, there are also bomb-disposal experts, sniffer dogs, an anti-terror unit and police who're trained in tackling football hooliganism.
Policing in France came under intense scrutiny in May when Paris hosted the Champions League final. Liverpool fans as young as nine years old were subject to tear gas and denied entry to the Stade de France for hours before the defeat by Real Madrid.
Qatari cops are being trained by South Korean military officers with experience in counter-terror policing and maintaining public order. According to Yonhap, the group is made up of "veteran soldiers with experience in overseas military units, anti-terror special task force, arrests of violent military criminals, presidential office guards, and various national events guards".
