Germany’s exit from the World Cup – the biggest surprise of the tournament so far – has been greeted with lashings of schadenfreude in Qatar, the host nation that had clashed with the Germans for speaking out in favour of LGBT+ rights.
Germany had protested about workers’ rights in the Gulf state prior to the tournament and during their first game posed with their hands over their mouths to highlight censorship after Fifa had stopped teams from wearing rainbow armbands.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and the decision to protest by the four-time world champions prompted fury in Doha.
Local flagship football programme Al Majlis (The Sitting Room) gloated on air about the news of Germany’s exit from the competition.
Pundits held their hands over their mouths, mocking the players’ earlier gesture, and waved goodbye at the camera after Germany’s exit.
Social media in the Gulf was full of Qatari fans also celebrating the fact that Germany had been knocked out and claiming it was a consequence of the team’s political actions.
Some fans celebrated by drawing a route to the airport in Doha to show the Germans how to leave the country.
Despite the clash between the countries, on a diplomatic level things appear to be operating smoothly.
Earlier this week, Berlin agreed on a major 15-year deal to buy 2 million tonnes of liquid gas from Qatar.
But Germany’s squad should not expect a warm welcome when they return home.
The newspapers there called the early exit an “enormous embarrassment” and a “new low”.
