The female football fan causing 'moral uproar' in Saudi Arabia – video
Women are not allowed to go to football matches in the Muslim nation in case they 'promote sinful behaviour'
A video of a Saudi woman at a football match in the United Arab Emirates has caused a "moral uproar" in Saudi Arabia.
Women are banned from attending football matches in the conservative Muslim nation because their presence is said to promote "immoral and sinful behaviour". This forces many women to travel to other Gulf states where rules are more relaxed in order to watch football and other sporting events.
In the short clip, a fully veiled woman wearing a black abaya and niqab is seen shouting at her team after a bad tackle. While shaking her fist in anger, her sleeve falls to expose much of her lower arm.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The clip has been viewed almost half a million times and the majority of the comments have been made by "angry men critical of the unidentified woman for being in a stadium filled with thousands of men", reports the BBC's Mai Noman.
"Does this woman not have a man? Her place is in the house," reads one comment underneath the video.
Another one says: "As a man I do not want to get married to a woman who, surrounded by men, shouts at stadiums."
Despite the reaction, some argue that attitudes towards women and sport are changing in Saudi Arabia.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lina Al Maena, a former athlete and advocate for girls' sports in Saudi Arabia told the BBC: "There's a lot more acceptance of women's involvement in sports today than there used to be a decade ago."
Indeed, not all of the YouTube comments left by Saudi Arabian men were critical.
According to local reports, Saudi sporting officials are considering allowing women to enter stadiums, but only if they follow strict guidelines, including not mingling with men.
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
Will SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic make 2026 the year of mega tech listings?In Depth SpaceX float may come as soon as this year, and would be the largest IPO in history
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal