Saudi, UAE unblock beIN Sports

CAIRO – 24 July 2017: In the UAE, Qatari-owned beIN Sports broadcast is available now after nearly a month of block, according to Saudi Okaz newspaper on Monday.

Etisalat Company sent SMSs to its subscribers stating that “Starting from July 22, the beIN Sports channels will be available again to its subscribers, under continuous monitoring by the concerned authorities.”

Saudi Arabia followed the footsteps of the UAE and unblocked the beIN Sports networks for Saudi subscribers as well on Monday, according to DotMasr news website on Monday.

On the other hand, Saudi officials deny unblocking the beIN Sports. Qatari-owned websites were unblocked in Saudi Arabia due to a “technical error,” which had been fixed immediately, according to a Saudi official on Monday.

Saoud Al-Qahtani, advisor at the Saudi Diwan, wrote on his official Twitter account “unblocking the Qatari websites in Saudi Arabia was due to a technical error that shall be fixed in coming hours.”

Since May 24 many Qatari-owned websites were blocked in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain such as Al-Jazeera.net, Watan, Raya, Arab and Sharq websites, following hacking the Qatari-owned state news agency QENA and publishing statements attributed to Qatar’s Tamim about Qatar’s strong ties with Iran and Israel.

The UAE and its regional partners have closed their airspace for Qatari planes, as well as all ports for Qatari vessels. Various Qatari news websites have also been blocked.
Qatar's Al Jazeera network and sports channel beIN Sports have also been shut down by the UAE's telecommunications services.