Qatar, which has been placed under an illegal blockade by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE since June 2017, has been having a dream run at the ongoing AFC Asian Cup in the UAE.

They are set to take on hosts UAE in the semifinal of the tournament tomorrow.

The Qatar team had faced heavy odds against them right from the tournament’s start. They had to take a circuitous route to reach the UAE before having to wait extra long at the airport to be granted entry.

The Qatar team played all its matches in front of a lone South Korean fan (and a handful of Omani ones), yet progressed to the knockout semifinal round.

The team is yet to concede a goal, and they overcame Saudi Arabia 2-0 en route to the last-four.

The UAE, which has barred Qatari fans from entering the country to cheer for their side, has now purchased all remaining tickets of the semifinal match to give it away for free to Emirati fans. This is a flagrant mixing of politics with sport, reported Gulf Times.   

#نهيان_بن_زايد: نهنئ القيادة الرشيدة وشعب #الإمارات بفوز منتخبنا الوطني وتأهله لنصف نهائي #كأس_آسيا2019
لقد أثبت رجال #الأبيض أنهم نجوم فوق العادة بعزيمتهم وإرادتهم الشجاعة من أجل إعلاء راية الوطن وهو الهدف الأسمى.. نتمنى لهم التوفيق والنجاح في مشوارهم القادم.. pic.twitter.com/9z8zCCl8dc

— مجلس أبوظبي الرياضي (@AbuDhabiSC) January 25, 2019

The UAE is giving away free tickets to ‘loyal’ fans and turning away women and expats, it has been reported.

The Abu Dhabi sports council earlier announced that its head, Prince Nahyan bin Zayed, had purchased and ordered all of the tickets reserved for the game to be distributed to ‘loyal Emirati fans’, in a move to prevent Qatari fans from attending the game and supporting their team, reported Fox Sports Asia.

A UAE news outlet, the National, then reported that non-Emiratis that were attempting to gain entry into the stadium were being turned away in an attempt to solely house home fans for the clash.

"Women are being turned away." UAE hands out free tickets to fill ground for the @afcasiancup semi-final against #Qatar - but not to everyone. https://t.co/bBJEtwbBle

— David Harding (@DavidHardingAFP) January 27, 2019

This is likely because around 1000 Omani fans were allegedly found voicing their support for Qatar — something that the UAE doesn’t want.

The move will effectively block any international fans of the Qatari team from cheering on the side at the highly-anticipated showdown on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, according to Al Araby.

The UAE had earlier said that Qataris wanting to attend games needed security approval and sponsorship from an Emirati national.

Today in hilarious pettiness, the UAE has bought up all remaining tickets for the Asian Cup semifinal with Qatar and is distributing them free to "loyal" fans. "Non-Emiratis were reportedly being turned away." https://t.co/BoURFWZJg6

— Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom) January 27, 2019

Fans of the game were quick to react to the pettiness.

“Today in hilarious pettiness, the UAE has bought up all remaining tickets for the Asian Cup semi-final with Qatar and is distributing them free to ‘loyal’ fans. Non-Emiratis were reportedly being turned away,” Gregg Carlstrom, an author and the Middle East correspondent of The Economist, said in a tweet.