Fact-check: Has FIFA security intercepted alcohol disguised as Pepsi cola in Qatar at a stadium’s entrance?

No, the FIFA security check has not intercepted alcohol deceitfully labelled as Pepsi cola in Qatar at a stadium entrance.

Writer: Ghai Aketch 

After the Qatari government and FIFA revised the policy banning the sale of alcohol in and around the eight stadiums hosting the FIFA World Cup matches, an image claimed to be of a security officer in Qatar peeling labels on cans masked as Pepsi soft drinks emerged online. 

The photo was severally captioned depicting the ongoing FIFA event in Qatar, “Fans smuggling beer into Qatari.” Another one  captioned it,” Current situation in Qatar after FIFA banned alcohol.”

Here is the screenshot

However,  our keywords and image searches confirmed that the image was not taken in Qatar at the onset of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The viral image of a customs officer peeling off the mask wrapped on cans was first published in November 2015 when customs officers at the Al-Batha border between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates stopped a truck smuggling alcohol disguised as soft drinks, according to several news reports.

In 2015, many publications across the world reported more or less the same; Saudi Arabia Seizes 48,000 Cans of Heineken Beer Disguised as Pepsi

As quoted then by the Morocco World News, the Al-Batha border General Manager Abdulrahman al-Mahna was quoted as saying:

“A truck carrying what first seemed to be normal cans of the soft drink Pepsi was stopped, and after the standard process of searching the products, it became clear that the alcoholic beers were covered with Pepsi’s sticker logos.”

But this image has resurfaced and gone viral on social media platforms because of Qatar’s alcohol ban in the stadiums.

Alcohol consumption is strictly controlled in Qatar, with Qatari having to get a permit from the government to buy it from government-controlled distributors.

And so, anyone caught taking it in public or found drunk on the roads is prone to a six months jail term or fine of about $800 US dollars, according to dohaguide.com. 

The Muslim country has, therefore, remained rigid in allowing alcohol sale to thousands of spectators worldwide despite earlier negotiations with Fifa.

Conclusion:

Based on our research, World Cup security officials or the Qatar government have not seized any alcohol labelled as a soft drink in the country following the ban on the sale of alcohol in and around the World Cup stadiums.

Additionally, the image recently trended before the Sunday opening match between Qatar and Ecuador.

This fact check was published by 211 Check with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck and the African Fact-Checking Alliance.