She is one of the characters of the World Cup off the field of play: Ivana Knöll, the influencer who cheers for Croatia dressed in provocative latex clothing in the stadiums of Doha, continues to capture public attention for the most unimaginable reasons. But it’s not just about her attractiveness and the reactions she provokes in Qatar’s ultra-conservative environment. Now her name is also mixed with a bizarre geopolitical hypothesis.
Ivana Knoll poses in the match against Brazil
Ilija Kajtez, a sociologist who presided over the Belgrade Military Academy, was in charge of denouncing an alleged conspiracy headed by Knöll, with an eye on undermining the credibility of Serbia, Croatia’s historical enemy for dominance in the Balkans. “There are no coincidences in life and in politics. Some will think that it is her personal project, but sooner or later it will be seen that it is a well-planned project, that behind her and her trip there are serious intelligence services, mainly Western intelligence services whose subcontractor is the Croatian intelligence service,” he said. Kajtez, on Serbian television.
According to the explanation of this retired soldier who has written dozens of books and held relevant positions in the Army of his country, “the Croatian intelligence service is the most present in Serbian territory.” And he added: “We have the same language and the same cultural matrix, and they also have family and friends. This is very well thought out. What attracts most people is the nudity of this girl, which borders on pornography.
And that is just the beginning of the conspiracy hypothesis, according to Kajtez: “The next step is subtle marketing in favor of Croatia and Western democracy, and it will turn out to be against the Serbs. There is a collective pathological hatred and, in the end, all these dazzling images will turn in favor of Croatia, its independence and its ideology, and against us Serbs.
Serbia and Croatia were the two largest republics in Yugoslavia, the communist state that dissolved in the early 1990s amid a brutal war. Relations between the two countries never normalized. The Croats gained entry to the European Union (EU) in 2013. Serbia is an aspirant to enter the community space, although the Croats resist strenuously. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine increased tensions and instability in the Balkans. The Serbian government maintains a good relationship with Vladimir Putin, while the Croats are aligned with the pro-Ukrainian European position.
In this context, Professor Kajtez denounces that the model who walks her flashy clothes through the World Cup stadiums has a political intention. “Behind these actions there are really very serious centers of power. When we are faced with intelligence work, we must bear in mind that behind it there are think tanks, serious faculties, institutes, scholars of various profiles. They seek to influence the consciousness of the people. There is not too much improvisation, everything is planned down to the last detail. As we can see in these images, there is nothing casual, it is part of a very well planned action by the intelligence services”.
Viral phenomenon
Knöll, 30, became a viral phenomenon because of the way she dresses in the matches that her national team, Croatia: tight red pants, and a bra with the red and white squares of her country’s flag . An image of her going down the stairs in the match in which Luka Modric’s team eliminated Belgium at the Ahmed bin Ali stadium was questioned for “double standards” in a country with strict rules for women. In that postcard of hers, smiling Arabs were seen in the audience with their cell phones in her hand, taking photos of her. After she went viral on networks, she herself shared it on her Instagram.
In the preview of the decisive clash for the round of 16 between Japan and Croatia, GLM met Knöll. Her outfit for her meeting: mini jean skirt, long stockings, belt, bow and top in Croatian colors. Although many media presented her as a businesswoman from that Eastern European country, she clarified that she is only “an influencer who came to have fun in Qatar.”
Consulted by this means at gate 5 of the Al Janoub stadium, in Al Wakrah, south of the capital, about whether she had any attention calls for her clothes in the stadiums, she was blunt: “Nobody said anything to me for my clothing. I never had any problems with the way I dress in Qatar.”
However, the situation changed in the quarterfinal match against Brazil, when she was thrown out of the stadium because of her latex clothing.
“They don’t allow the fans to take photos with me and they don’t allow me to pose for photos here at the railing,” the German-born Croatian told German newspaper Bild in 1992, referring to stadium security. “I asked them why they were so rude,” she added. However, she explained that so far she had not had any problem in the World Cup. “It’s really great. No one has ever told me to cover myself. Everyone wants photos with me, even the locals. Only on Twitter was there a negative reaction from a Qatari. But he probably just wanted attention, ”he told the same medium.
In addition, she advanced her plans for the rest of the competition: “In fact, I wanted to leave when the Croats were eliminated. But now I definitely stay until the final, no matter who plays there.” In her last Instagram post, she asked herself: “To find out how many goals will Argentina score tomorrow?”, And she added an emoji of an ear, as well as an account to bet on with the result.