The crew were initially threatened by Qatari officials
The Qatar Supreme Committee has issued an apology to a Danish TV crew after they threatened to destroy their camera during a live broadcast.
TV2 reporter Rasmus Tantholdt was speaking in Qatar ahead of the build up to the tournament when he was approached by security staff who had appeared to arrive on a golf buggy.
Within seconds it became clear that he was not welcomed to film there and was threatened by the security, which included them claiming they would have his camera smashed and destroyed.
The clip, which has gone viral, showed Tantholdt speaking to the officials in English to ask for clarification on where he was breaking the rules.
“You have invited the whole world here. Why can’t we film? It is a public place,” he said.
Tantholdt then presented his press accreditation on his phone, continuing to explain how he was allowed to film, however one member of the staff then grabbed the lens of the camera while another said the camera would be destroyed if they continued filming.
“You can break the camera,” the presenter added. “You want to break it? Go ahead. You’re threatening us by breaking the camera.”
Completely normal and not concerning at all 😶😶😶😶
🎥 @tv2nyhederne @RasmusTantholdt
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) November 16, 2022
The presenter has since revealed that he has received an apology from delegates in Qatar, but has still been left with concerns after his live broadcast was interrupted.
Speaking to Norwegian outlet NRK, he said: “I don’t think the message from the top in Qatar has reached all the security guards.
“Therefore, one can argue that there are some who have misunderstood the situation, but at the same time it tells a lot about what it is like in Qatar. There it is that you can be attacked and threatened when you report as a free media.
“This is not a free and democratic country. My experience after visiting 110 countries in the world is: The more you have to hide, the more difficult it is to report from there.”
🚨| Qatar Supreme Committee have apologised to a Danish Broadcast crew who were mistakenly interrupted during a live broadcast in one of Qatar's tourist destinations. 🇶🇦
[via @tv2danmark]. pic.twitter.com/FuP7tYLFhE
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 16, 2022
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