World Cup 2022: Welsh fans miss Iran clash after Hayya visa ‘shambles’ at Dubai airport

Dozens of Welsh fans missed their team’s crunch World Cup match against Iran after problems with the Hayya cards needed to enter Qatar.

Supporters branded the visa issues a “shambles” after they were barred from boarding flights from nearby Dubai to Doha on Friday morning before the crucial Group B clash, which Wales lost 2-0.

One told i how he and his wife have paid £10,000 for the dream trip but were stopped from boarding their flight along with other supporters.

The problem arose after a glitch in the system at the airport with the Hayya visa permit that allows entry into Qatar for up to 24 hours.

Many fans are staying in Dubai and travelling to Qatar on match days throughout the tournament due to limited accommodation in Doha.

Wales fans look dejected after the World Cup defeat to Iran, which other supporters were unable to travel to due to issues over the Hayya visa app (Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire)

Hywel Price, 59, from Cardiff, and his wife Mairwen were among the Welsh fans who were refused entry when they tried to board their Dubai Air flight at 6.20am local time.

The retired head teacher saw around 15 fans being barred from boarding as their Hayya app had not updated to allow them to travel to Qatar, with children left in tears and families going to the Iran match forced to separate.

Mr Price, who paid around £10,000 for the trip with his wife, told i: “It’s horrific. I was checking my phone at 2.30am and it was still pending.

“I personally spoke to five people yesterday in Qatar, international calls come with a certain expense, and everyone of those promised the world to me. My final call was eight or nine o clock last night and they said, ‘When you get up in the morning everything will be ready’.

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“I went to the airport hoping it would be activated in the three hours I had, but the staff at Dubai Air said there was nothing they could do.

“I saw 15 people refused entry. Young kids crying. It was awful, parents looking bemused, fathers and sons being separated.

“A father in his mid-50s and his son in his-mid 20s, the father’s Hayya card wasn’t processed, it was still pending, so he came back with me in the taxi.

“It’s an absolute disgrace. The money we have wasted. World Cup tickets cost three figures. The flights from Doha to Dubai are expensive.

“Even now, I am checking my Hayya card and it still says it is pending. As it stands, I can’t get into the England game.”

Mr and Mrs Price were forced to watch the game at a hotel in Dubai but fans who were flying with Qatar Airways were allowed to fly this morning even if their app had not updated, he added.

After spending 14 hours trying to sort out the issues with his Hayya card on Thursday, he said he doesn’t want to go through the same scenario before next week’s England match.

Another fan tweeted that it had been a “total shambles” after he and his friend were turned away.

He wrote: “We were due to fly at 6.20 am and in the three hours I spent in the airport spoke to loads in the same situation.

“People on Qatar Airways allowed to fly with permits pending. Something needs to be done before the England match. Total shambles.”

The Welsh Football Supporters Association tweeted that they had informed FIFA and the Welsh FA.

They wrote: “Did any Welsh fan fail to get from Dubai today due to Hayya issues? Loads finally got approved late but this whole process with day permits for Iran game has been difficult for our fans. We have informed FIFA and FAW.”

Paul Corkery, from the Football Supporters Association Cymru, told i it was “terrible” that some fans had missed the match.

Speaking from Qatar as he left the Wales vs Iran match, he said: “I feel sorry for them. They took a chance going to Dubai in the first place. That was the option a lot of them took. Everybody in Doha, there is no problem.”