Fans caught taking photos of the World Cup's 'sexiest fan' were doing so in order to report her to the country's authorities, it's been claimed.
Qatar has harsh modesty laws, particularly for women, as their criminal system follows strict Islamic rules. That did not stop a group of what appeared to be Qatari men taking photos of Ivana Knoll as she walked past them during Croatia's clash with Morocco.
The model has been labelled as the tournament's 'sexiest fan' having also been crowned as Miss Croatia. Knoll was wearing a red and white bikini top with tight red leggings, turning the heads of the group of Qataris watching the Group F clash from the stands.
The Qataris could be seen smiling as they took photos of Knoll from behind, with the model reposting the picture of them doing so on Instagram. Her caption poked fun at them by saying: "Thank you for your support".
Knoll's clothes likely would have fallen foul of Qatar's laws on modesty had she not been attending the World Cup. According to the regulations, violations of clothing rules can be punished with prison sentences and very heavy fines.
The model's post went viral, with many calling out the apparent hypocrisy of the Qatari men. The post also drew the attention of Mohammed Hassan Al-Jefairi, a prominent Qatari entrepreneur, who claimed the men were taking the photos in order to report Knoll.
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He tweeted: "Just for your info they take a photo not because they like her but because they don't like the way she is mis-dressed on regards to our culture. You can confirm this with any local Qatari. Probably to report it."
Knoll was born in Germany but moved to Croatia at the age of seven along with her parents. Her Instagram profile has more than one million followers and she shot to fame when she attended the 2018 World Cup.
Before this year's edition of the tournament, fan groups had discouraged women from wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts. The Qatari government-run tourism website asks visitors to “show respect for local culture by avoiding excessively revealing clothing", though Knoll hit back at those roles.
"First I was thinking if the World Cup is happening there (Qatar), for sure they will allow us everything to make it comfortable for all fans without any of the restrictions," the model said.
"Then I heard about the rules, and I was shocked. The dress code forbids showing shoulders, knees, belly and everything and I was like, 'Oh my God, I don't even have the clothes to cover all of that.'
"I was super angry because if I'm not a Muslim and if we in Europe respect hijab and niqab, I think they need also to respect our way of life, our religion and in the end me wearing dresses, bikinis because I'm Catholic from Croatia who is here because of the World Cup.
"But when I arrived, I was surprised they were not making any problems about dressing, they allow you to wear everything what you want - except in government buildings, and in the end that's fine."
