Fact-Check: Viral Video Showing Match Being Stopped During Azaan Is From 2018

The video is from 2018 and shows a referee stopping a match between Al-Fayhaa and Al-Fateh in Saudi Arabia.

A video showing a football match being stopped during azaan (call to prayer) is going viral on the internet.

What about the video?: The 2:20 minute-long clip shows the referee blowing the whistle to stop the match as soon as the call to prayer can be heard.

What does the claim say?: Several social media users have shared the video to claim that the clip is recent and have linked it to the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup being held in Qatar.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

The truth: The video could be traced back to 2018. It is reportedly from a match held in Saudi Arabia between Al-Fayhaa and Al-Fateh in round of 16 of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.

How did we find out?: We searched for the video on YouTube using the keywords "match stopped due to azaan".

• This led us to the viral video uploaded on an unverified channel on 29 August 2018.

• The video was titled, "English referee stops playing for Adhan (sic)."

Taking this as a clue, we conducted a keyword search on Google and came across a report published on BBC.

• It was published on 25 January 2018 with the headline, "Mark Clattenburg: Referee stops play for call to prayer in Saudi Arabia."

• The report mentioned that the referee, officiating a match between Al-Fayhaa and Al-Fateh, stopped it out of respect for the Muslim prayer to call.

What else did we find?: We noticed "Pro Sports 1" written at the top-right of the video.

• A keyword search led us to the full name of the channel, which was "MBC Pro Sports".

• We found their verified YouTube channel and came across the full version of the viral video uploaded on it.

• The video was uploaded on 24 January 2018 and was titled, "Snapshot of the day.. English referee Mark Clattenburg stops the Al-Fayhaa and Al-Fateh match, out of respect for the Maghrib prayer call."

• In its 'about' section, the channel has mentioned that it provides exclusive broadcasts of the Saudi League matches, such as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup and the Crown Prince Cup.

Conclusion: A four-year-old video from a football match in Saudi Arabia is being shared as recent and from Qatar.

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