Tony O'Donoghue has revealed himself and his crew were interrupted by police while filming in Qatar ahead of the World Cup.
RTE's football correspondent is in the desert state for the tournament, which kicks off on Sunday when hosts Qatar face Ecuador at 4pm Irish time.
Speaking on RTE Two's coverage of Ireland v Norway on Thursday evening, Tony told how he was interrupted by police while trying to film a piece to camera.
READ MORE: Ireland v Norway live updates from the Aviva Stadium
But the broadcaster put the incident down to bad communication between organisers and local security instead of evidence of an “oppressive regime”.
The incident comes after a Danish TV crew were threatened by Qatari officials as they were doing a live broadcast - with one even saying he would smash the camera.
The presenter had the accreditation to film in the public space near one of the World Cup stadiums, but half way through a piece to camera, security forces arrived alongside a Qatar official.
One of the officials immediately tried to grab the camera, which spun around to reveal two more Qataris getting out of the golf buggy.
An argument then took place, during which the presenter was threatened that the camera would be broken if he did not stop filming.
Rasmus Tantholdt took to social media on Wednesday morning to post the clip, noting that he had received an apology from Qatar International Media Office and from Qatar Supreme Committee.
The man grabbing the camera then put his hand over the lens, blocking out any pictures. Tantholdt responded by saying: "We are live on Danish television. Mister, you invited the whole world to come here, why can't we film, it's a public place."
The reporter is then seen showing the Qatari officials his accreditation, which says he could film anywhere in the country. The Qatari officials refused to accept that though and insisted they needed permission.
The first official then began grabbing the camera again, with Tantholdt approaching him. He appears to say something to the reporter who responds: "You want to break the camera? Ok you can break the camera. So you are threatening us by smashing the camera?"
The clip has since gone viral, with many condemning the actions of the Qatar officials. The Middle Eastern country has strict, repressive laws on free speech, with zero independent media companies based there.
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