The Qatar 2022 World Cup will be remembered as the World Cup of work-related deaths and state homophobia
Qatar 2022 stadiums are banned from introducing rainbows. The latest victim of state homophobia is former Wales women’s national team captain Laura McAllister.
Qatar 2022 and the Rainbow anti-LGBTQ+ flag
Stopped at the entrance by security officers at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, where the Wales v. United States match was being played. She was told that she had to remove her rainbow hat.
Rainbow Wall made that hat. A group of Welsh fans from different sexual minorities.
Once stopped, I asked Laura McAllister to continue the discussion in a private room. And only after a few minutes was she allowed to reach the grandstand, still wearing her Rainbow hat.
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Other fans were not so lucky. In fact, they have had their Rainbow gadgets confiscated by security officers at various stadiums in Qatar.
And FIFA? As awkwardly silent as the moves made on Qatar’s behalf, for example, the threat of penalties on the field for those players who wanted to wear a rainbow sash with ‘love’ written on it.
FIFA is complicit in the state homophobia and workplace deaths of Qatar 2022.