The Danish and Manchester United player, Christian Eriksen, poses with the protest shirt that his team will wear in Qatar. /
Qataris boast of a culture that condemns homosexuality, among others, with sentences of up to five years in prison
Qatar is a few days away from becoming the center of the soccer world. The World Cup will begin on November 20 and will receive millions of fans of all colors, although this last point worries the local authorities. Very conservative, the Qataris boast of a culture that condemns homosexuality, among others, with penalties of up to five years in prison.
Despite this type of law and the alleged fraudulent election, FIFA allowed Qatar to continue hosting the 2022 World Cup. In recent months, protests from various Western federations have multiplied. Denmark will go to the World Cup with a shirt where the emblems of the country are not distinguished, others like England will wear a rainbow armband. These reactions are motivated, in part, by statements such as those of Nasser Al-Khate, president of the organizing committee. “Qatar and neighboring countries are much more modest and conservative. That is what we ask the fans to respect, and we are sure that they will do so », he warned a year ago.
A direct message to the LGTBI community, which has denounced the country’s laws since FIFA designated them as the World Cup venue. “Homosexuality is not authorized. Public displays of affection are frowned upon, and that goes for everyone,” Al Khater said in an interview on CNN.
It was not the only controversy addressed by the president of the organizing committee. Regarding the migrant workers killed in the construction of the stadiums, Al Khater boasted of the country’s advances in workers’ rights and their well-being: “People should also recognize the responsibilities that Qatar has taken to progress, enact laws, and protect Workers”. The truth is that since the great works began in Qatar, about 6,500 migrants have lost their lives. Countries like India, with 2,711 deaths, Nepal (1,641) or Pakistan (824), lead the statistics. Amnesty International (AI) already denounced in a statement two years ago abuses against immigrant employees and demanded “urgent” measures to speed up the process of labor law reform.
The choice of Qatar to host the World Cup in 2010 marked a before and after in the world of football. Subsequent journalistic investigations showed indications of an alleged fraudulent election of the organizing country thanks to alleged bribes to senior FIFA officials. A judge will decide on these accusations in the coming months. The cupola that directed football at that time fell like a house of cards, although the new leaders kept Qatar as the organizing country despite anti-homosexual laws and the thousands of migrant workers who died in its facilities.
