Portsmouth have risked the wrath of supporters after scheduling a friendly against Qatari opposition.
News of the fixture comes just days after Watford arranged an exhibition game against the Qatari national side only to make a u-turn and scrap the game following opposition from fan groups.
The decision by the Hornets to organise the game in the first place drew plenty of criticism, given that the country's views on human rights, homosexuality and women's rights have come under huge scrutiny since winning the rights to host this year's World Cup.
Representatives from both the Watford LGBT+ and the women’s supporter groups were quick to slam the decision for their club to arrange the bounce game.
Now, League One side Portsmouth have pencilled in a match with club side Qatar SC as part of their pre-season tour of Spain. A club statement said: "Pompey will conclude their forthcoming pre-season trip to Spain with a practice match against Qatar SC from the Qatar Stars League.
"The match on Saturday, July 9 kicks-off at 4pm local time (3pm BST) and has been added to a six-day training camp at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, which is part of the complex where the team are staying. Qatar SC compete in the top-flight of Qatari football and finished ninth in the standings last season. Their squad includes former Bayern Munich midfielder Javi Martinez, who was part of the Spain squad that won the World Cup in 2010 and European Championship two years later."
Some fans responded negatively on social media, with one saying: "Incredibly disappointed to see #Pompey playing Qatar SC. Change your social media icons to pride flags sure, but just looks even more like a token gesture with no actual thought for how to make football more welcoming for LGBT+ fans."
Another put: "It’s just horrible, top to bottom." Another simply said: "What in fresh hell is this!?"
Regarding the cancelled Watford v Qatar game, the Hornets quickly back-tracked on their decision with a club spokesperson saying: “The game was never finalised and it became abundantly clear this was a game not to play; as such, the schedule was revised.”
However, the Qatar national team hit back insisting that the fixture was never confirmed in the first place.
A statement read: "The Qatar Football Association would like to clarify some matters related to the match between the national team and Watford FC, which was scheduled for early July in Austria, according to reports in the English media.
"We confirm that a set of proposals have been presented for friendly matches with several European clubs, including Watford FC. The national team coach Mr Felix Sanchez considered all of these proposals. After studying the options presented to the coaching staff, a series of matches with different European teams was selected and Watford FC was not among these opponents."
The World Cup begins in Qatar on November 21; the first-ever tournament to take place outside the traditional summer months.
