Qatar World Cup: James Cleverly had ‘difficult conversations’ over LGBT fans’ safety
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had “difficult conversations” with Qatari authorities who have now taken “real steps” to ensure the safety of gay fans at the World Cup.
The minister expressed the concerns that LGBT fans were at risk in the country where same-sex relations are illegal, this week.
This comes after former Wales women’s team captain Laura McAllister was told to remove a rainbow hat while entering the stadium, claiming officials had been “pretty heavy handed” and “quite intimidating”.
Speaking to the BBC today, Cleverly said he “brought up over a number of years” the issue of LGBT fans attending, before attending the World Cup.
“I’ve made it clear that we feel very strongly about this issue and actually one of the advantages about having a strong relationship with other countries is you can have these difficult conversations,” he said.
“The Qataris know how seriously we take this issue and they have taken real steps to ensure that gay football fans are safe and do feel secure and can enjoy the football.”
This comes after Cleverly came in for criticism when saying fans should “please… be respectful of the host nation” and show “a little bit of flex and compromise” with strict Islamic rules, which ban homosexuality, alcohol and public displays of affection.
This week, in protest of Qatar’s anti-LGBT position, England and Wales’ captains announced their intention to wear a One Love armband – before being forced to backtrack under duress from governing body, FIFA.
Captains Harry Kane and Gareth Bale were threatened with sanctions on the pitch if they wore the rainbow armband.