Qatar: "In the place of Gianni Infantino, I would fly to Riyadh and Doha" (Pascal Boniface, IRIS)

"If I were in the place of Gianni Infantino (FIFA president), I would fly to Riyadh (capital of Saudi Arabia) and Doha (capital of Qatar) to try to play the role of good-offices, and show the links that sport represents at a time when politics have been launched against each other," said Pascal Boniface, director of the French Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (IRIS), to News Tank Football on 07/06/2017.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Yemen announced the termination of their diplomatic relations with Qatar on 05/06/2017. These countries accuse the emirate of destabilising the region and supporting "terrorist groups", including al-Qaeda, the Islamic State organisation, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

"It is necessary to place this crisis in a more general context, with the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a country with which Qatar maintains peaceful relations," stressed Pascal Boniface.

"Qatar's investments in Paris Saint-Germain, beIN Sports, (the relationship with FC Bayern Munich), and in the hosting of the 2022 World…