Foreign Secretary Tells LGBTQ+ Fans To “Compromise” At World Cup

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said LGBTQ+ football fans who attend the World Cup in Qatar should show “a little bit of flex and compromise.”

Speaking to LBC on Wednesday, he told fans travelling from England and Wales to be “respectful of the host nation.”

Yet, within hours, the prime minister's official spokesman said LGBTQ+ fans should not be expected to “compromise who they are” if they visit Qatar for the World Cup, the BBC reported.

Shadow digital, culture, media and sport secretary Lucy Powell hit out at the foreign secretary's remark, describing it as “shockingly tone-deaf”. She said: “Sport should be open to all. Many fans will feel they can't attend this tournament to cheer on their team because of Qatar's record on human, workers, and LGBT+ rights. The government should be challenging Fifa on how they've put fans in this position, and ensuring the full safety of all fans attending, not defending discriminatory values.”

In a separate interview with Sky News, the foreign secretary reiterated his message when asked how the government was pushing for LGBTQ+ equality in Qatar. “These are Muslim countries, they have very different cultural starting point for us. I think it's important when you're a visitor to a country that you respect the culture of your host nation,” he said.

The decision to stage the World Cup in Qatar, a country where homosexuality can be punishable by death, has been criticized by LGBTQ+ groups.

LGBTQ+ organizations engaging with Fifa said “progress has been slow” in ensuring the safety of LGBTQ+ fans and that reassurances from Qatar had “not been adequate.”

Some footballers have publicly stood in support of the LGBTQ+ community in the run-up to the World Cup. Harry Kane, the England captain, has said he intends to wear his OneLove rainbow captain armband during World Cup matches, even if it is not approved for use by the football's global governing body, Fifa, which runs the World Cup.

Fifa regulations state that a player's kit and other “basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious, or personal slogans, statements, or images.”

Some politicians, including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, said they would not attend the tournament due to Qatar's human rights record. Wales's First Minister, Mark Drakeford, is still expected to be there.

Mr. Cleverly said he would be attending the World Cup, adding that the UK has “incredibly important partners in the Middle East.”

On Tuesday, UK campaigner Peter Tatchell from staging an LGBTQ+ rights protest in Doha. Mr. Tatchell said he was “surrounded and interrogated” by authorities following the one-man protest, believed to be the first LGBTQ+ rights protest to take place in any Gulf state.

The campaigner said the foreign secretary should not attend the World Cup, and instead “highlight the abuses being carried out by the regime.” By planning to be at the event, Mr. Cleverly would be “colluding with a homophobic, sexist and racist regime”, Tatchell said.

The Foreign Office, which is now headed by Mr. Cleverly, has always issued and updated official online travel advice for Britons when they travel to any country in the World. For Qatar, the relevant page says: “Homosexual behavior is illegal in Qatar. See our information and advice page for the LGBT community before you travel.”

Read related myGwork articles here:

Peter Tatchell Arrested in Qatar After LGBTQ+ Protest

Qatar 'Arrested And Abused' LGBTQ+ People

Qatar Treatment Of Homosexuals “Absolutely Unacceptable” – DFB Director

England Footballer Harry Kane Backs LGBTQ+ Fans Ahead Of Qatar World Cup

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