2022 World Cup: Qatar to allow LGBTQ displays, rainbow flags in stadiums

Rainbow flags will be allowed in stadiums at the 2022 World Cup after Qatar said it would comply with FIFA rules promoting tolerance and inclusion at matches despite the Arab country’s strict anti-LGBTQ laws.

With less than two years until the tournament, though, concerns persist about the treatment facing gay fans in Qatar due the conservative religious code prohibiting same-sex relations that conflict with FIFA’s stance against homophobia.

FIFA said it was determined to push Qatar on staging a “tournament that is inclusive” when the World Cup heads to the Middle East for the first time.

“I’m an openly gay woman in football, so this is personally, to me, something I’m close to as well,” FIFA’s chief social responsibility and education officer Joyce Cook said.

“We will see a progressive change in all of those aspects and rainbow flags, t-shirts will all be welcome in the stadium — that’s a given. They understand very well that is our stance.”

Qatar’s World Cup leadership has offered FIFA the assurances that displays promoting LGBTQ rights will not be removed.

“When it comes to the rainbow flags in the stadiums, FIFA have their own guidelines, they have their rules and regulations,” 2022 World Cup chief executive Nasser Al-Khater said. “Whatever they may be, we will respect them.”

Source – ESPN