![]() ![]() The code of ultra culture is antagonistic and deeply anti-authority, and in constant conflict with the police and the news media. The answer was to tap into the region’s already fertile ultras culture and import it.īut that same culture is an unlikely fit with the commercialized reality of Qatar’s World Cup. The scene was more reminiscent of soccer stadiums in South America and Europe than in Qatar, and the cheering section evoked those of the ultras, a highly organized soccer fan culture with roots in Italy that can be found across the globe, including in North Africa and the Middle East. ![]() The men linked arms in long lines and jumped up and down. “Play, the Maroon!” they chanted over and over in Arabic, a reference to the nickname of Qatar’s national team. But now the sea of men understood what was expected, and they followed the order and fell into a strange silence as the match noise swirled around them inside Al Thumama Stadium. Moments earlier, a section of the crowd - more than a thousand strong, almost all men, all of them in identical maroon T-shirts with the word “Qatar” in English and Arabic - had been chanting in unison at the direction of four fan leaders. DOHA, Qatar - Midway through the second half of Qatar’s match against Senegal at the World Cup, the drumming stopped as a man in a bucket hat and sunglasses rose and asked for quiet. ![]()
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