A GROUP of hardcore Rangers fans and a Scottish comedian have bizarrely become embroiled in the middle of a bitter propaganda war being fought in the Gulf.
Glasgow comic Janey Godley, who shot to international prominence when she protested Donald Trump’s visit in 2016 with a sign reading “Trump is a c*nt”, found herself being targeted on social media by a small group of Rangers fans.
This in itself is not particularly unusual – Godley often has public run-ins with supporters of the Ibrox club, and it’s fair to say that they tend to come off worse.
But Nicholas McGeehan, a researcher and writer, happened to notice yesterday that many Twitter users, all of whom seemed to be genuine Rangers supporters, were asking Godley the exact same question.
“Hi are you gonna protest or are you aware of any protest planned for The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani?” they all tweeted.
The accounts, it seems, were accusing the comic of hypocrisy, asking why she had protested against Trump in 2016 and again in 2018, but not Al Thani.
Now, there are plenty of reasons why someone might want to protest the Emir of Qatar. Amnesty International has long been critical of the country’s human rights record, and especially the treatment of migrant workers.
But what’s interesting is that the calls to Godley came just days after it was revealed a London casting agency were offering £20 for paid extras to protest outside Downing Street when Al Thani met Theresa May on Tuesday.
It’s not entirely clear who was paying for the extras – the firm behind the advert were unwilling to disclose their client.
But the finger was being pointed at rival regimes in the Gulf. In their casting call, the Extra People agency said: “This is NOT a film or TV production. The company are looking for a large group of people to fill space outside Downing Street during the visit of the president of Quatar [sic].
“You will not have to do or say anything, they just want to fill space.”
Relations in the gulf are tense at the moment. Last June, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt and others severed ties with Qatar, saying it was interfering in the domestic affairs of its neighbours.
The small gas-rich nation is accused of sponsoring extremist terrorist groups which are destabilising the Middle East.
That partly stems from Doha’s long support for Hamas, and also from last April, when Qatar reportedly paid a £1bn ransom to a former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria and to Iranian security officials as part of a deal that resulted in the release of 26 Royal family members reportedly kidnapped by Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militiamen and of dozens of Shia fighters captured by Jihadists in Syria.
And Qatar does support the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, and does have a close relationship with the Taliban and some al-Qaeda affiliates.
They also have a close relationship with Iran, which led to Saudi Arabia accusing Qatar of supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen fighting government forces.
The blockade, which saw Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE ordering Qataris resident in their countries to leave, also led to their own nationals being banned from visiting or living in Qatar within 14 days.
That has now led to a PR and lobbying war.
A Qatari diplomat told the Guardian they believed this was behind the paid for protest: “The blockading countries have a long history of using paid protesters to try and discredit those who do not agree with their views.
“Despite their latest attempts to spread lies about Qatar, the visit of the Amir has further strengthened the historic and strategic partnership between Qatar and the UK.”
Qatari-funded news network al-Jazeera has also claimed that extras were paid to protest against the Qatari government at events in Germany.
So are a small group of Rangers fans going tonto at Godley in the pay of the Qatar’s neighbours? Or are they just really interested in Gulf politics?
It’s fair to say both possibilities seem unlikely, but none of those approached by The National returned our request for a comment.
And Godley herself wasn’t too fussed by it all.
“I don’t mind being trolled,” she told The National. “If you stop them from calling me names you stop me from calling Trump a c***”.
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