Rainbow flags representing the LGBTQQIP2SAA community could be taken away from football fans attending the World Cup in Qatar as per a senior security official in Qatar. Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari, director of the Department of International Cooperation and chairman of the National Counterterrorism Committee at the Ministry of Interior, said this during an interaction with Associated Press.
Qatar, where same-sex relations are criminalized, has said that they will welcome LGBT+ community during the World Cup, however, the latest statement shows that they aren’t entirely comfortable with the idea.
Speaking to AP, the Major General said, “If he (a fan) raised the rainbow flag and I took it from him, it’s not because I really want to, really, take it, to really insult him, but to protect him. Because if it’s not me, somebody else around him might attack (him). I cannot guarantee the behavior of the whole people. And I will tell him, Please, no need to really raise that flag at this point.”
Furthermore, he said, “You want to demonstrate your view about the (LGBTQ) situation, demonstrate it in a society where it will be accepted. We realize that this man got the ticket, comes here to watch the game, not to demonstrate, a political (act) or something which is in his mind. Watch the game. That’s good. But don’t really come in and insult the whole society because of this.”
Qatar won the right to host the summer World Cup in December 2010 against all odds in 50 degrees celsius temperature, before FIFA moved the World Cup to winter for the first time in history to protect players from that heat. The tournament will now be held from 21st November to 18th December in the small Arabian country.
LGBTQ+ rights aren’t the only problem with Qatar hosting the World Cup, there have been some concerns raised over the use of “slave labor” and poor working conditions in the Gulf state. Thousands have reportedly died while working on the infrastructure for the World Cup due to poor working conditions.
However, football governing body FIFA, which has banned Russia for the Ukrainian invasion, has chosen to overlook all these human rights abuses.
