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British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Wednesday that LGBT fans should “be respectful” and show “flexibility and compromise” in Qatar for the upcoming men’s soccer World Cup, drawing harsh criticism from British media, lawmakers and the Prime Minister’s Office.
He wisely told talk radio station LBC that Qatar “makes some compromises in terms of being an Islamic country with very different cultural norms than ours.” In return, he said, fans should “be respectful of the host country – they will, they’re trying to make sure people can be themselves and enjoy football.”
“I think with a little bit of flexibility and compromise on both ends, it can be a safe, secure and exciting World Cup,” he added.
Critics said Cleverly, a center-right Conservative member and supporter of same-sex marriage rights, was essentially urging LGBT fans to hide their identities in a country where homosexuality is a crime. According to the U.S. Department of State, consensual sex between men is prohibited under Qatari law, which does not specifically prohibit sex between women. Sex between men is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Qatar continues to abuse LGBT people ahead of the World Cup, rights group says
Gary Lineker, former UK footballer, tweeted: “Whatever you do, don’t do anything gay. Is that the message?”
“Don’t be gay at the World Cup,” it said on Thursday Home page by Metro, a British tabloid.
Lucy Powell, speaking on sport and culture for the opposition Labor Party, called Cleverly’s comments “shockingly deaf.” She called on the government to challenge FIFA “how they put fans in this position” rather than “defending discriminatory values”.
Downing Street dismissed Cleverly’s remarks, saying in a statement that people shouldn’t have to “compromise who they are,” according to the Associated Press.
Amid the criticism, Cleverly reiterated his stance, telling UK broadcaster Sky News that “we have incredibly important partners in the Middle East” and that “it’s important that you as a visitor to a country respect the culture of your host nation.”
When asked if he plans to attend the World Cup, which runs from November 20 to December 18, Cleverly said he would do so because “it’s an important international event” where there would be other interlocutors. He must also be there to protect British travellers, he said.
Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday that arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment of LGBT people in Qatar continued over the past month.
Cleverly’s comments came after British activist Peter Tatchell was stopped by police in Qatar on Tuesday while protesting the country’s stance on LGBT people. in one expression, Tatchell said he was “detained for 49 minutes by police and state security services” after holding a sign that read “Qatar arrested, jailed and subjecting LGBT people to ‘conversion'” and referring to an unmasked treatment, aimed at changing a person’s sexuality. Some countries, including the UK and Canada, have banned this practice.
Cleverly said on LBC he has not spoken to the Qatar government about Tatchell and that the activist’s situation is being raised by the British consular team there. Tatchell said he was “interrogated” and added: “It is a disgrace that the Qatari government is trying to divert attention from its vicious human rights abuses by misrepresenting a peaceful protester.”
The Qatari government said Tatchell was not arrested or detained, but was urged “cordially and professionally” to move and that “rumours” that he had been arrested were “entirely false and unfounded,” according to Portal.
Aside from concerns about LGBT rights in Qatar, the Gulf state’s treatment of underprivileged groups such as migrant workers has been under scrutiny since it was awarded the rights to host the tournament. The Qatari leadership has been annoyed by some criticism. In May, the country’s Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, claimed that the attacks were carried out by “people who cannot accept the idea that an Arab-Muslim country would host a tournament like the World Cup.”
Powell, the Labor Party politician, written down Qatar’s record of “how they treated migrant workers who built the stadiums to host this World Cup”.
The tournament is the latest global sporting event to draw criticism of its host country’s human rights record. When China hosted the Winter Olympics this year, the White House instituted a diplomatic boycott to protest the country’s human rights abuses, including its crackdown on the Uyghur minority.
Andrew Jeong contributed to this report.