FIFA have been involved in another embarrassing beer gaffe.
There was an advert shown on a big stadium inside the Khalifa International Stadium ahead of England’s Group B opener with Iran advising fans to hydrate between Budweisers.
The image showed pictures of Budweiser’s alcoholic version as well as their ‘Bud Zero’ which contains no alcohol. But fans are not allowed to buy Budweiser inside the stadium after a late U-turn by FIFA late last week.
The advert has still appeared advising supports to “Drink Wiser” and “Cheer better”. Mirror Football understands Fifa had gained permission last month to sell it within the perimeter of the stadiums.
But pressure came from the Middle East country after a senior member of the Qatar royal family visited a World Cup stadium last week and was not happy with Budweiser stalls being at the stadiums.
Last week, England keeper Aaron Ramsdale backed England to make fans drunk on football glory instead of beer. The Arsenal shot-stopper said: “I think the fans will find some way of having a beer, I don't think you need to do it so much at the game.
“Hopefully, with them not being able to drink we can perform on the pitch to give them that excitement and buzz. But we also have to respect the rules and continue to work, we will put pressure on ourselves to entertain from the football pitch.
“But I don’t know if it’s the right decision to kick us out. I don’t know if anything will change because of that. It’s better to change what the real problem is, not to kick the football side out of the World Cup.”
A campaigner from the Open Stadiums group recently told Mirror Football that the regime would have secret police in Qatar for the World Cup with the sole purpose of quietening protestors.
Iran are appearing in their sixth World Cup but they have never made it past the group stage.