Doha (AFP)

Between Paris SG and Manchester City, it's more than a semi-final of the Champions League: the poster brings together two competing Gulf states, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, engaged in a battle of influence in the sport.

"Golfico", "Cashico", "Abou Derby" ... Social networks are still considering the nickname to give to this rivalry which goes beyond the sporting framework.

On the one hand, PSG, the jewel of Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) since 2011, which Doha polishes with hundreds of millions of euros.

On the other, Manchester City, transformed in 2008 into a winning machine thanks to the unlimited resources of the Emirati fund Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), owned by Sheikh Mansour ben Zayed Al Nahyane.

By adding their common obsession to win their first Champions League, these two "new rich" share many similarities ... But this is to forget the long antagonism that separates the two neighbors of the Gulf.

Their rivalry turned into a regional crisis in June 2017 when the Emirates, alongside Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, a split accompanied by economic measures.

These states blamed Doha, which denied the accusations, for supporting radical Islamist groups and for not taking enough distance from Iran, a Shiite regional power rival to Sunni Saudi Arabia.

- "A lot at stake" -

The reconciliation recorded in January made it possible to get Qatar out of isolation, and to promote appeasement ... But "there is always a lot at stake", explains Simon Chadwick, professor at EM Lyon.

In this context, the PSG-Manchester City match constitutes a front in the battle for the prestige to which Doha and Abu Dhabi are engaged, who want to show off their success in the eyes of the world through sport.

"The animosity has evaporated somewhat, but the battle to be the first Gulf nation in football remains," continues the professor.

The diplomatic crisis, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, has not eroded their enormous ambitions.

Qatar continues preparations for "its" World Cup in 2022, despite the punching action of several European teams, Germany and the Netherlands in the lead, to draw attention to alleged human rights abuses .

Meanwhile, the ADUG fund, via its company City Football Group, expanded its portfolio of European clubs, with the acquisition in September of Troyes (L2), close to a rise in Ligue 1 ... may scrap with PSG.

On the diplomatic front, discussions between Qatar and the Emirates since the end of hostilities have made little progress, according to a source close to the negotiations.

The two gas states are opposed on several subjects, as well Libya, as Israel or as the relations with the Islamist brotherhood of the Moslem Brotherhood.

They "cannot go to war against each other, but they can engage in rhetorical battles across the football fields," explains Moustafa Qadri, a specialist in these regional issues.

The ephemeral Super League provided a new example of this war of influence, PSG opposing Manchester City, engaged alongside 11 other clubs (Real, Juventus, Barça ...) to create a private and quasi-tournament. -closed, which would guarantee higher income than the Champions League.

- Super League crisis -

But the rapid abandonment of this project offered a triumph to Parisian President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, who posed as a defender of those who "love football", as he recalled.

The leader emerged stronger from this crisis, being appointed head of the European Club Association (ECA) in place of the discredited Andrea Agnelli (Juventus), one of the leaders of the "mutiny" against UEFA .

The tackle is severe for City, who withdrew from the project after facing criticism from coach Pep Guardiola, players and supporters.

"Abu Dhabi does not seek to seduce like Doha does, which explains why Abu Dhabi did not hesitate to oppose the established order", analyzes Raphaël Le Magoariec, researcher specializing in questions related to sport in the Gulf States.

Qatar has "a more consensual position (vis-à-vis UEFA, editor's note), while Abu Dhabi has rather been in the confrontation," adds Simon Chadwick.

"In theory, UEFA should not favor one country to the detriment of another. But one can have the feeling that the influence of Qatar has gained new impetus after the failure of the Super League," he said. -he.

It remains to prove it on the ground.

© 2021 AFP