Ivana Knoll the 30-year-old Croatian influencer who went viral in the first matches of the Croatian team for her provocative dresses has become an internet sensation for her wardrobe choices at the World Cup.
“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. The woman herself explained that so far she had not had any problems 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,” she explained to the same medium.
She advanced her plans for the rest of the World Cup: “In fact, I wanted to leave when the Croats were eliminated. But now I definitely stay until the final, no matter who plays there.”
The situation in Qatar
In Qatar, more than a million visitors who came from all corners of the world were warned about Muslim culture and various rules to follow: among them, the clothing to wear in stadiums. Knöll however, went viral for the way she dressed in the matches that her team, Croatia.
The 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, smiling Arabs were seen in the audience with cell phones in hand, taking photos of her. After it went viral on networks, she herself shared it on her Instagram.
Although the regulations are inflexible with the local ones, neither the authorities nor the Qatari residents make the visitors, including the Argentines, feel any rigor in terms of different ways of dressing or walking down the street.
You can see women wearing the same clothes as in any corner of the Western world. However, Knoll was ejected from the stadium against Brazil.
In the preview of the decisive clash for the round of 16 between Japan and Croatia, La Nación met Knöll. Her outfit for the meeting was 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.”
Asked in that match against Belgium, at gate 5 of the Al Janoub stadium, about whether she had any warnings about her clothes in the stadiums, she was blunt: “Nobody said anything to me about my clothes. I never had a problem with the way I dress in Qatar ”.
The influencer is already a celebrity. Before entering the VIP section of the stadium, she stopped at every step to take selfies with fans, sign autographs, and pose for photographers.
Supposedly, the model had declared to the German media that if Croatia won the World Cup, she would strip naked. However, Ivana herself has denied that.
“Fake news! Media lies. I will not take off my shirt if Croatia wins the championship, ”she responded bluntly.
Below are some photos of her