Speaking for the first time, the two men, who did not wish to be named, told the Telegraph they were “definitely not racists” and claimed they had been dressed as knights from Monty Python rather than Crusaders.
Both are British expats who have lived in Doha for several years.
“It was ridiculous,” one of the men said. “We turned up and the police first told us we couldn’t take the swords in, even though they are made out of foam. Then a captain came running after us saying we couldn’t wear the chainmail.
“At one point one of them asked 'Are you Muslim killers?' Of course we aren’t Crusaders. We’ve lived here for years and we have no problems with Muslims at all - we work with them every day.
“It took two and half hours before they eventually let us in, wearing England shirts. This is just total woke madness. I blame Fifa. You can’t wear anything nowadays without someone taking offence.”