Calls for boycott mount as 2022 World Cup draws near
All eyes will soon be on Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, and LGBT+ football fan groups have said that their members will be boycotting the sporting event.
This year’s World Cup is to take place in Qatar between November 20 and December 18, and human rights in the Arab state are coming into sharp focus as the event draws near.
2022 World Cup: Controversial from the start
Ever since it won the right to host the 2022 World Cup, Qatar- a tiny nation of 3 million people with no soccer pedigree- has been a controversial choice.
It defeated bids from South Korea, Japan, Australia, and the United States in 2010 after receiving an outright majority of 14 in the fourth round of voting.
Soccer’s ruling body FIFA has faced questions for the past 12 years over the legitimacy of the bidding process.
Fifteen of the 22 FIFA executive committee members who were involved in the selection have since faced criminal charges or been banned by world football’s governing body.
The state of human rights in Qatar
Aside from the dubious bidding process that saw Qatar become the 2022 World Cup host, human rights groups have also expressed concern over the country’s treatment of migrant workers and poor human rights record.
Media reports have detailed cases of laborers working on the new stadiums and other infrastructure being subjected to inhumane treatment and unsafe working conditions.
Moreover, homosexuality is officially illegal in Qatar. Male homosexuality is punishable by up to three years in prison, and same-sex marriages are not recognized by the government.
There are no legal protections for LGBT+ people in the Gulf state.
LGBT+ support and boycotting the 2022 World Cup
Players and fans from participating countries have called for boycotts, but respective soccer authorities ultimately rejected the idea.
While FIFA rules stipulate that displays promoting LGBT+ rights be permitted in stadiums, a senior official responsible for security during the event warned that rainbow flags could be confiscated from fans to protect them from being attacked.
Still, English football player Harry Kane will wear an anti-discrimination armband during his team’s World Cup matches in Qatar.
It will be in support of the OneLove campaign against discrimination, with the captains of nine other nations also taking part throughout the tournament.
“As a statement of principle” due to FIFA’s “deafening silence” surrounding Qatar’s treatment of LGBT+ people, some members of Gaygooners- Arsenal Football Club’s supporters’ group for queer fans- and other groups have decided to boycott the event altogether.
In an interview with PA News Agency, Gaygooners co-chairman Carl Fearn had this to say: “Objections by groups like ours are based on the lack of fundamental human rights for LGBT+ people in Qatar (plus other countries that still criminalize LGBT+ people) and the basic right of LGBT+ people to exist.”
“We will do what we can to make the world wake up and realize sexuality is not a choice and that football really should be for everyone,” Fearn said.