Subject: RE: Refund Required due to not being allowed to enter Khalif Stadium for AFC Final
Dear Sir / Madam,
Thank you for your reply.
I appreciate AFC/QLOC joint apology to the fans and the offer to refund money.
However, kindly note that the gates were closed much earlier than 18.05.
My wife and sons reached the stadium at 17.15 and I reached the stadium at 17.45 by then tall barricades were already in place to stop fans from entering the stadium. Although I agree that the gates were closed due to "security reason" are partly correct, the real reason for security concern is due to the free entrance allowed to thousands of people to fill the stadium, thus resulting in thousands of paid fans being turned away.
So, the statement that gates are closed at 18.05 is incorrect.
Therefore, an amendment to your press release, to reflect the actual cause of "security concern" as well as accurate time of the gates closure, would be much apprecited.
Thanks & regards
Rien
-------------------------------------------------
From: AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011Tickets [mailto:Tickets/-a-t-/asiancup2011.com.qa]
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 10:15 AM
To: Rien
Subject: RE: Refund Required due to not being allowed to enter Khalif Stadium for AFC Final
Dear Asian Cup Spectator,
In continuation to joint AFC/QLOC Daily Media Briefing held on 30 January 2011 at Main Media Centre, the QLOC would like once again to offer our apology for the fans that were not able to enter the Final Match, despite the fact that they had valid ticketing in their hands, due to the security concern which led to the closing of gates at 18:05.
Once again, we apologize to these fans, and have decided in conjunction with the AFC to refund all ticket-holders who have been denied access to the venue due to Security Closure of Gates.
Please see the detailed process at tickets.afcasiancup.com for applying for refunds and – as always – please do not hesitate to contact the QLOC at tickets/-a-t-/asiancup2011.com.qa for any further inquiries you may have.
Kindly be informed that the submission of the Refund Application Form will be from the 3rd-28th of February 2011.
Subject: Refund Required due to not being allowed to enter Khalif Stadium for AFC Final
Dear Sir / Madam,
It is with disappointment I write to you about the shameful behavior and treatment I met with (along with at least 10000 other fans) at Khalifa Stadium, Doha-Qatar for yesterday’s Australia vs Japan AFC final match.
Despite having valid, four (4), tickets which I booked over two months ago, my family & I could not enter the stadium.
When we reached the stadium at 5.15pm, we were told by policemen that we cannot go in as the stadium is full.
We waited till 7.15pm to get into the stadium, only to disappointed and pushed away by baton wielding policemen … so we returned home extremely disappointed.
This is disgraceful and shameful treatment of fans by a reputed football association.
In view of the above I request AFC to kindly refund the money I paid for the tickets.
Please find attached copies of the tickets I purchased from AFC booth in Villagio Mall on 16 November 2011
We too evacuated the really crowded front end for fear of getting crushed or if the police started swinging their batons to control the crowd.
Hey sb1, did you submit this to Gulf-Times? if not you should, because they covered fan letters on a full page of today Gulf-Times (page 29) ... you made an excellent point and it must be published.
If you don't want to do it, give me the permission to send it to Gulf-Times and other newspapers with due credit to you.
we were locked outside regardless of having valid tickets. what's more ridiculous is after the game, those inside were locked in and not allowed to go out.
the organizers should be thankful that the spectators who were locked out were calm. imagine if these 5,000 people or so started to push themselves into the gate... a disaster!
I apologise as I have have posted this elsewhere On QL threads but will continue to add to any new threads in case the authorities actualaly take any notice of the fans comments.
This is not just an access issue but a major saftey issue. Lets close the entrance gates to the main stadium 45 mins before the game starts . Lets not worry about the men, women , children who will be crushed against the gates as more and more people start coming in and want access.
This is the main issue that should be addressed immediatley by the organisers. Have they no idea of what has happened in past soccer stadium "disasters" . Generally they have been caused by closing gates and then fans crushing entrances leading to injuries or even worse.
In this case they were lucky - The crowd was generally very good natured but it would have taken one incident or one panic event to cause mayhem.
And if you are wondering why I feel so strongly about this , I was at the front of the entrance gates with my two young children just as they closed it. They were frightened and I was frightened for them as the pressure of the crowds built up behind us. Eventually I had to lift them over a crash barrier to get them some space . Then picked them both up and barged my way out through teh crowd into open space and safety.
The tickets were a scam, never seen in any other country that has organized an event of this scale!
Shutting the stadium doors at the end, just what they did at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Asian Games!
In the event of an emergency, people got stranded and locked up!
Attending an event in Doha is still a huge life threatening risk.
The ability to organize and ensure a safe environment is always at display and always kept hidden from the international media and mostly away from FIFA!
oktoberfest.. If they did that to peaceful valid tickets holder, imagine these twats against some really die hard europeans football fans who had a few drinks..
best policy for Qatar, just to realise that Football is not for this part of the world. Just stick to your camel racing.
Normal words from them "If you don't like it you can leave this country".
This is the problem with this people (and organizer) who never appreciate the expatriates and look down on them. They think they are the best nation who got the right to host the World's Top Sports Events like Football WC, Handball WC, AFC Asian Cup but they didn't realise that they are incapable of doing so. Please learn from this mistake.
They said that we should Expect Amazing. Ha, expect a complete foul up at World Cup 2022 if last night's AFC Asian Cup Soccer Final is anything to go by. Thousands of ticket carrying spectators turned away at the gates by riot police after all entrances to the stadium were closed 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the game due to a "full stadium". How, I ask, can the stadium be full if thousands of fans with tickets are barred from entering the stadium?
The riot police were an unnecessary overkill on the part of authorities. Offering no explanation why ticket holders were prevented from entering the stadium was unacceptable. Locking the gates to the stadium and preventing spectators from leaving before the awards ceremony is beyond comprehension. And if you were wondering about a ticket refund - good luck with that! Qatar embarrased itself last night and has a long way to go before hosting the 2022 World Cup.
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Below is the correspondence between AFC & I:
*******************************************************
From: Rien
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 13:05 AM
To: tickets/-a-t-/asiancup2011.com.qa
Subject: RE: Refund Required due to not being allowed to enter Khalif Stadium for AFC Final
Dear Sir / Madam,
Thank you for your reply.
I appreciate AFC/QLOC joint apology to the fans and the offer to refund money.
However, kindly note that the gates were closed much earlier than 18.05.
My wife and sons reached the stadium at 17.15 and I reached the stadium at 17.45 by then tall barricades were already in place to stop fans from entering the stadium. Although I agree that the gates were closed due to "security reason" are partly correct, the real reason for security concern is due to the free entrance allowed to thousands of people to fill the stadium, thus resulting in thousands of paid fans being turned away.
So, the statement that gates are closed at 18.05 is incorrect.
Therefore, an amendment to your press release, to reflect the actual cause of "security concern" as well as accurate time of the gates closure, would be much apprecited.
Thanks & regards
Rien
-------------------------------------------------
From: AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011Tickets [mailto:Tickets/-a-t-/asiancup2011.com.qa]
Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 10:15 AM
To: Rien
Subject: RE: Refund Required due to not being allowed to enter Khalif Stadium for AFC Final
Dear Asian Cup Spectator,
In continuation to joint AFC/QLOC Daily Media Briefing held on 30 January 2011 at Main Media Centre, the QLOC would like once again to offer our apology for the fans that were not able to enter the Final Match, despite the fact that they had valid ticketing in their hands, due to the security concern which led to the closing of gates at 18:05.
Once again, we apologize to these fans, and have decided in conjunction with the AFC to refund all ticket-holders who have been denied access to the venue due to Security Closure of Gates.
Please see the detailed process at tickets.afcasiancup.com for applying for refunds and – as always – please do not hesitate to contact the QLOC at tickets/-a-t-/asiancup2011.com.qa for any further inquiries you may have.
Kindly be informed that the submission of the Refund Application Form will be from the 3rd-28th of February 2011.
Regards,
The Ticketing Department
Local Organizing Committee
AFC Asian Cup - Qatar 2011 TM
E tickets/-a-t-/asiancup2011.com.qa
W www.afcasiancup.com
----------------------------------------------------
From: Rien
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 11:53 AM
To: AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011Tickets
Subject: Refund Required due to not being allowed to enter Khalif Stadium for AFC Final
Dear Sir / Madam,
It is with disappointment I write to you about the shameful behavior and treatment I met with (along with at least 10000 other fans) at Khalifa Stadium, Doha-Qatar for yesterday’s Australia vs Japan AFC final match.
Despite having valid, four (4), tickets which I booked over two months ago, my family & I could not enter the stadium.
When we reached the stadium at 5.15pm, we were told by policemen that we cannot go in as the stadium is full.
We waited till 7.15pm to get into the stadium, only to disappointed and pushed away by baton wielding policemen … so we returned home extremely disappointed.
This is disgraceful and shameful treatment of fans by a reputed football association.
In view of the above I request AFC to kindly refund the money I paid for the tickets.
Please find attached copies of the tickets I purchased from AFC booth in Villagio Mall on 16 November 2011
Regards
Rien
sb1 raised a valid point.
We too evacuated the really crowded front end for fear of getting crushed or if the police started swinging their batons to control the crowd.
Hey sb1, did you submit this to Gulf-Times? if not you should, because they covered fan letters on a full page of today Gulf-Times (page 29) ... you made an excellent point and it must be published.
If you don't want to do it, give me the permission to send it to Gulf-Times and other newspapers with due credit to you.
we were locked outside regardless of having valid tickets. what's more ridiculous is after the game, those inside were locked in and not allowed to go out.
the organizers should be thankful that the spectators who were locked out were calm. imagine if these 5,000 people or so started to push themselves into the gate... a disaster!
I apologise as I have have posted this elsewhere On QL threads but will continue to add to any new threads in case the authorities actualaly take any notice of the fans comments.
This is not just an access issue but a major saftey issue. Lets close the entrance gates to the main stadium 45 mins before the game starts . Lets not worry about the men, women , children who will be crushed against the gates as more and more people start coming in and want access.
This is the main issue that should be addressed immediatley by the organisers. Have they no idea of what has happened in past soccer stadium "disasters" . Generally they have been caused by closing gates and then fans crushing entrances leading to injuries or even worse.
In this case they were lucky - The crowd was generally very good natured but it would have taken one incident or one panic event to cause mayhem.
And if you are wondering why I feel so strongly about this , I was at the front of the entrance gates with my two young children just as they closed it. They were frightened and I was frightened for them as the pressure of the crowds built up behind us. Eventually I had to lift them over a crash barrier to get them some space . Then picked them both up and barged my way out through teh crowd into open space and safety.
expect "nothing" amazing
Very disappointing.. not been able to see the match after buying a ticket.
I swear to god - if this had been Holland v England, Doha would be in bits this morning ........
Expect...Fcuking Amazing...
The whole situation was a major safety risk!
The tickets were a scam, never seen in any other country that has organized an event of this scale!
Shutting the stadium doors at the end, just what they did at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Asian Games!
In the event of an emergency, people got stranded and locked up!
Attending an event in Doha is still a huge life threatening risk.
The ability to organize and ensure a safe environment is always at display and always kept hidden from the international media and mostly away from FIFA!
Thesame thing happened with the asian games people had tickets but were not let in.They should not take on responsibility if they cannot fulfil
Well Expat, you could have given the Australian guy some company in jail
lucky I had not too much to drink otherwise I'm sure would have knocked a few these twats down myself.
A Brit was being interviewed and said thank god the UK was not playing, as there would be riots and stampedes if this happened.
Here's my CNN IReport
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-546503
oktoberfest.. If they did that to peaceful valid tickets holder, imagine these twats against some really die hard europeans football fans who had a few drinks..
best policy for Qatar, just to realise that Football is not for this part of the world. Just stick to your camel racing.
Normal words from them "If you don't like it you can leave this country".
This is the problem with this people (and organizer) who never appreciate the expatriates and look down on them. They think they are the best nation who got the right to host the World's Top Sports Events like Football WC, Handball WC, AFC Asian Cup but they didn't realise that they are incapable of doing so. Please learn from this mistake.
They said that we should Expect Amazing. Ha, expect a complete foul up at World Cup 2022 if last night's AFC Asian Cup Soccer Final is anything to go by. Thousands of ticket carrying spectators turned away at the gates by riot police after all entrances to the stadium were closed 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the game due to a "full stadium". How, I ask, can the stadium be full if thousands of fans with tickets are barred from entering the stadium?
The riot police were an unnecessary overkill on the part of authorities. Offering no explanation why ticket holders were prevented from entering the stadium was unacceptable. Locking the gates to the stadium and preventing spectators from leaving before the awards ceremony is beyond comprehension. And if you were wondering about a ticket refund - good luck with that! Qatar embarrased itself last night and has a long way to go before hosting the 2022 World Cup.
shame on qatar, a true failure for 2022!!!
or even a kids party
This country couldnt host a dinner party...