Gay player scared to play, hotels not allowing same-sex couples: The homophobic troubles of FIFA World Cup at Qatar 

The upcoming FIFA World Cup is set to take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18. Even though Qatar seems to be a luxurious destination for such a high-profile event, the Gulf state hasn’t had the best reputation when it comes to human rights. 

Australian footballer Josh Cavallo, an openly gay man, had voiced his concerns last year given how homsexuality is outlawed in Qatar. And now, despite FIFA promising an inclusive experience, three of the leading hotels in Qatar have declared that they wouldn’t accept same-sex couples. 

Cavallo's concerns for the World Cup: Last year, Josh Cavallo came out of the closet with most of the player and fan community in his country supporting his announcement. A midfielder for Adelaide FC and the world’s only openly gay top-flight men’s footballer, the 22-year-old Aussie reportedly told media outlets on how he would be “scared” to play at the upcoming World Cup. 

Male homosexuality is illegal in Qatar with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death penalty by practices such as flogging (although no known cases of death for homosexuality have been reported yet). The country’s government doesn’t allow same-sex marriages or even campaigning for LGBTQIA+ rights. 

To quote Cavallo on a 2021 episode of The Guardian’s Daily News podcast, “At the end of the day the World Cup is in Qatar and one of the greatest achievements as a professional footballer is to play for your country, and to know that this is in a country that doesn’t support gay people and puts us at risk of our own life, that does scare me and makes me re-evaluate – is my life more important than doing something really good in my career?”

Security concerns for gay fans since 2010: When Qatar was announced as a future host of the tournament back in 2010, gay fans were already concerned about the prospect of visiting the country during FIFA season. 

The then FIFA President Sepp Blatter, upon being asked about any advice for gay visistors remarked in a press conference, “I would say they should refrain from any sexual activities,”. 

The sarcastic comment instantly drew scrutiny following which Blatter apologised and reassured that everyone would be welcome to the tournament irrespective of sexuality. 

What has changed since then? Even though Qatar’s restrictions against queer populations are still as stringent as ever, Qatari officials have allowed LGBTQIA+ fans to express themselves in matches but within limits. For instance, waving the rainbow flag is permitted in stadiums. 

Nasser al-Khater, the tournament’s chief executive, has repeatedly told global media outlets that Qatar faces unfair criticism and the country is set to be more welcoming to the players and spectators. 

This March, when England team manager Gareth Southgate called the Qatari World Cup a “great shame” for the queer concerns, al-Khater answered back saying that Southgate should choose his words carefully and must meet him personally to address these concerns. al-Khater added that Qatar is the safest country in the Middle-East to back his argument. 

Did Southgate and al-Khater ever meet? Nothing has been reported on the same as of now. 

Three hotels don’t allow same-sex couples: With only a few weeks left for the World Cup to commence, fans are already booking their accommodation in advance. FIFA issued a list of 69 recommended stays and hotels with three of them denying entry to same-sex couples. 

As per a Reuters report, 33 of these hotels have had no reservations around taking in homosexual visitors while 20 of them would accommodate such clients but only if they refrain from “publically showing that they were gay”!

This runs contrary to the claims made by the Supreme Committee (SC) of the World Cup that acknowledged Qatar as a conservative country but committed itself to delivering “an inclusive FIFA World Cup experience that is welcoming, safe and accessible to all”. 

The SC is yet to take any action against the three hotels: The Torch Doha, the Magnum Hotel & Suites Westbay, and the Wyndham Grand Regency. It is only ironic that a Wyndham ad reads, "Count on us to put safety first"!