Twitter: Syrian hackers hijack three accounts of FC Barcelona to oppose Qatar

The three official Twitter accounts of FC Barcelona (Liga BBVA): English (11.1 million subscribers as of 20/02/2014), Catalan (4.1 million subscribers) and Spanish (6.05 million subscribers) were hacked by Internet users claiming to be the SEA (Syrian Electronic Army), a group of internet activists who defend the Bashar al-Assad regime, President of Syria, on 18/02/2014.

The message: "Dear FC Barcelona management, do not let the Qatari money funds you, it's full of blood and kill," accompanied by a link to the page of the SEA, was posted on the three official accounts before being cleared after approximately 20 minutes.

• In March 2012, Addounia TV, the pro-Syrian regime channel, accused Qatar of using FC Barcelona matches to pass coded messages to Syrian insurgents.
• Qatar Airways has been the main sponsor of FC Barcelona since the start of the 2013-14 season.
• The Spanish club was sponsored by the Qatar Foundation between 2011 and 2013.
• The hacking of the three Twitter accounts was performed immediately after the victory of FC Barcelona against Manchester City (0-2, Round of 16…