Danish journalist reveals Qatar World Cup security threatened to ‘break his camera’ saying shocking clip ‘tells you something about how this country is run’

Danish journalist Rasmus Tantholdt has told talkSPORT that security guards at the Qatar World Cup threatened to break his camera.

A went viral on Tuesday night when a live broadcast was interrupted by security just days ahead of the tournament’s kick off.

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A golf cart was seen stopping behind Tantholdt with his cameraman then blocked off, and he is then seen showing officials his media pass which permits filming, before a heated argument.

Tantholdt later confirmed his team received an apology from the Qatar International Media Office and the Qatar Supreme Committee, but he still had concerns about the approach.

Recounting the incident to talkSPORT, he said: “What happened was that we were doing a live [broadcast] from a roundabout. Not about migrants or from a migrant camp of LGBT+ persons or anything else.

“We were just doing a live from a roundabout in the centre of Doha and suddenly four security guards they came up and they not just asked for our permission to film but they put their hands on the front of the viewfinder. 

“My cameraman he turned around 360 degrees with the man hanging on the camera trying to prevent us filming and after that they told us if you continue filming we will break the camera.”

A seasoned reporter in the Middle East, Tantholdt expressed his shock at the interruption, and explained how unusual it is.

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He continued: “I’ve travelled around the Middle East for 20 years, also in Gulf countries and I tried a lot of things but I didn’t expect that during the World Cup or at least a few days before the World Cup that I would experience what happened yesterday. 

“But you can say this is probably what normally happens in Qatar when there is not a World Cup. 

“Now they’ve apologised and said we’re very, very sorry.

"But it also tells you something about how this country is when the whole world’s attention is not on Qatar, as it is now.”