Protests against strict laws and “non-inclusive” governments at the 2022 FIFA World Cup have come in many different styles from players and spectators alike. Now one attendee is being considered the “sexiest fan” after disregarding modesty rules and asking how her “bikini can hurt someone?”
Ivana Knöll is a 26-year-old Croatian model and super fan of her home country’s soccer team. After traveling to previous tournaments held in Brazil, 2014, and Russia, 2018, and making a splash with her physique, she had become “super angry” ahead of traveling to Qatar for the latest World Cup and began teasing what she might wear in the Muslim nation with a bikini shoot.
“Only few more days left for Qatar,” she wrote in one post tagging FIFA and then asking, “What do you think how will I dress in Qatar?”
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Speaking with the press outside the stadium in Doha, Qatar, Knöll explained, “First I was thinking if the World Cup is happening there, for sure they will allow us everything to make it comfortable for all fans without any of the restrictions.”
“Then I heard about the rules and I was shocked. The dress code forbids showing shoulders, knees, belly and everything and I was like ‘Oh my God, I don’t even have the clothes to cover all of that,” she went on.
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As it had been explained by the Qatar tourism authority, in keeping with the modesty laws of the nation, “Visitors (men as well as women) are expected to show respect for local culture by avoiding excessively revealing clothing in public. It is generally recommended for men and women to ensure their shoulders and knees are covered.”
“And I think how my dress or bikini can hurt someone?” the model posited. “Please explain me that.”
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“I was super angry because if I’m not a Muslim and if we in Europe respect hijab and niqab, I think they need also to respect our way of life, our religion and in the end me wearing dresses, bikinis because I’m Catholic from Croatia who is here because of the World Cup,” Knöll, who showed up in violation of the dress code, stated.
“But when I arrived I was surprised they were not making any problems about dressing, they allow you to wear everything what you want–except in government buildings, and in the end that’s fine,” she clarified after reportedly not getting any pushback for risqué outfits. In fact, while her provocative game-time fashion was certainly edgy for the Middle Eastern country, she further pushed the envelope in a swimsuit-clad photo shoot out on the street.
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Asked if she had any concern over being arrested for her garments she said, “I am never afraid of something like that.”
The experience described by Knöll was far different than that of CBS reporter Grant Wahl who, as previously reported, had claimed to be detained when he showed up to watch the U.S. men’s national team take on Wales wearing a rainbow-themed t-shirt. “Just now,” he posted, “Security guard refusing to let me into the stadium for USA-Wales. ‘You have to change your shirt. It’s not allowed.”
As Wahl explained after attempting to self-aggrandize for supposedly being treated as a victim, he was eventually let in without having to change his shirt and was issued an apology.
The model expressed positive reactions saying, “Many of the Qatari people came to me to photograph me,” and, “If they hate it and they have something against it, they wouldn’t do it. I think it’s just another way of life, me and them.”
Fawning fans aside, others chided Knöll with comments like:
“Inappropriate. Have respect for the culture of the country you are in. Travel 101.”
“Yuck! No class whatsoever.”
“Respect other people’s culture whether you agree with them or not.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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