Former Qatari international footballer and 2022 World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman has called homosexuality a “mental damage” in an interview with the German public broadcaster ZDF, which is to be broadcast on the evening of Tuesday, November 8.
homosexuality, ” it is haraam [interdit]. It is haram because it is mental damage”Mr. Salman told reporters, before being interrupted by a press secretary. ” The most importanthe also says about homosexuals in the broadcast excerpt, is that everyone will accept that they come here, but they will have to accept our rules. »
Nancy Faeser, German Interior Minister also in charge of sports, judged his remarks ” horrible but said he believed in the spectator safety guarantees provided by the emirate.
Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, had himself assured on September 21 that all supporters would be welcomed “without discrimination” during the World Cup, which will take place from November 20 to December 18. FIFA had reaffirmed that rainbow flags, symbols of the LGBT+ community, would be allowed around stadiums.
Homosexuality is illegal in the Gulf state, but World Cup organizers said same-sex couples would not be harassed at the tournament. The captains of several European teams, including those of England, France and Germany, will wear rainbow-coloured armbands, with the message ” One Love “ as part of a campaign against discrimination.