Qatar Bans Beer Sales At World Cup Stadiums, Reversing Course At The Final Hour Before Tournament Begins

Beer will no longer be sold at World Cup games.

Despite an initial agreement allowing the sale of Budweiser at games, the Qataris have decided to slam the beer situation in reverse, according to The New York Times.

Despite having a $75 million deal with Budweiser and FIFA, the Qataris have decided only non-alcoholic beverages will be sold at games. The move hasn't been officially announced yet. Once it is, you can expect fans to flip out, and justifiably so. You can't tell people there will be alcohol sales to get people over there, and then pull the rug out from under them. That's insanity.

Qatar bans beer sales at the World Cup. (Photo by Christopher Pike/Getty Images for Supreme Committee 2022)

Qatar has a major double standard for its beer policy.

To make the situation even worse, the alcohol ban doesn't apply to FIFA executives. They will still have alcohol in their suites. Nothing says corruption like allowing the elites to do what they want while restricting the behavior of the common people. If alcohol isn't good enough for ticket-purchasing customers flying in from all over the world, it shouldn't be good enough for FIFA execs or anyone else in a suite.

Budweiser also appeared to confirm the news when the company's official Twitter account tweeted early Friday morning, "Well, this is awkward..."

Budweiser appears to react to alcohol ban at World Cup stadiums. (Credit: Twitter)

It's truly crazy how the situation is unfolding. First, people were surprised by the lack of options and prices for cold beer in the Middle Eastern country.

Now, beer isn't allowed at all at the stadiums, despite it being explicitly agreed to and promised to fans.

Regular fans can't buy beer at World Cup stadiums in Qatar. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

So, to be clear, there are thousands of fans flooding into Qatar hoping to enjoy some cold Bud at games, and now, that won't be allowed. I can't even begin to imagine the outrage. People are going to be furious.

Let's also not forget the United States even has military assets ready in case there are any major issues. I'm not sure a beer riot will invoke intervention, but it is just the latest embarrassing story out of Qatar.

Make sure to keep checking back for the latest updates out of the World Cup in Qatar as we have them. The situation is certainly getting more interesting with every passing hour.