DOHA: Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari, a senior Qatari official, came out against overt support for LGBTQ.
According to The Associated Press, the World Cup security chief could take rainbow flags from gay fans so they won’t be attacked for promoting gay rights.
While the conservative Gulf nation continues to criminalize same-sex relations, Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari says LGBTQ couples will be welcomed into Qatar for the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 FIFA showpiece.
Qatar’s eight stadiums are not to be adorned with rainbow flags, a symbol of LGBTQ freedoms that FIFA and World Cup organizers had previously stated would be welcome there.
AP spoke with Al Ansari for an hour about World Cup planning at the Ministry of Interior, where he is director of the Department of International Cooperation and chairman of the National Counterterrorism Committee.
“You should present your views regarding the (LGBTQ) situation in a society that will accept them,” he said. “We realize that this man got the ticket, and he has come here for the game, not to demonstrate, for a political (act) or for whatever reason he has.
“Watch the match.”. Good. Don’t really insult the whole society by doing this.”
Supporters and anti-discrimination campaigners have condemned the potential confiscation of supporters’ tickets as “deeply concerning.”.
Al Ansari said he did not consider his remarks discriminatory when it was pointed out that visiting fans and teams might take offense.
