“With some flexibility and compromise on both ends, I think it could be a safe, secure and exciting World Cup,” he added.
Critics said Cleverly, a member of the centre-right Conservatives and a supporter of same-sex marriage rights, is asking LGBT fans to hide their identities in a country where homosexuality is essentially a crime. Consensual sex between men is prohibited under Qatari law, which is not expressly prohibited between women, according to the US State Department. Sex between men is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
British former national football player Gary Lineker tweeted out: “Whatever you do, Gay don’t do anything. Is that the message?”
Read Thursday’s “Don’t be gay at the World Cup” encase British tabloid newspaper Metro.
Speaking on sports and culture for the opposition Labor Party, Lucy Powell said: wanted Cleverly’s comments were “shockingly deaf.” He called on the government to challenge FIFA “how they got the fans in this position” rather than “defending discriminatory values”.
Downing Street scolded Cleverly’s comments, saying that people “shouldn’t have to compromise who they are,” according to the Associated Press.
Amid the criticism, Cleverly reiterated his stance, telling British broadcaster Sky News, “We have incredibly important partners in the Middle East,” and “when you visit a country, it’s important that you respect that country’s culture.” host country.”
When asked if he plans to attend the World Cup, which will run from November 20 to December 18, Cleverly said he would attend because it was an “important international event” where other interlocutors would be. He also said he needed to be there to protect British travelers.
Arbitrary arrests and harassment of LGBT people in Qatar continued until last month, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Monday.
Cleverly’s comments came after British activist Peter Tatchell was stopped by police in Qatar on Tuesday while protesting the country’s treatment of LGBT people. Inside DeclarationTatchell said he was “held for 49 minutes by the police and state security services” after holding a banner that read “Qatar arrests, imprisons and ‘transforms’ LGBTs”, referring to a refuted treatment aimed at altering an individual’s sexuality. Some countries, including the UK and Canada, have banned the practice.
Speaking to LBC, Zekice said he had not spoken to the Qatari government about Tatchell and that the activist’s situation was handled by the British consular team there. “It’s a shame that the Qatari government is trying to divert attention from diabolical human rights violations by misrepresenting a peaceful protester,” Tatchell said.
The Qatari government said Tatchell was not detained or arrested, but was told to act “candidly and professionally” and that “rumors” that he was arrested were “completely false and unfounded”, according to Reuters.
Along with concerns about LGBT rights in Qatar, the Gulf country’s treatment of privileged groups such as migrant workers has been heavily scrutinized since it received the right to host the tournament. Qatari leaders resented some of the criticism. In May, the country’s emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, claimed that the attacks were carried out by “people who could not accept the idea that a Muslim Arab country would host a tournament like the World Cup.”
Powell, Labor Party politician, registered Qatar’s record for “how they treated migrant workers who built stadiums to host this World Cup”.
The tournament is the latest global sporting event to draw criticism against the host country’s human rights record. When China hosted the Winter Olympics this year, the White House launched a diplomatic boycott to protest the country’s human rights abuses, including the crackdown on the minority Uyghur population.
Andrew Jeong contributed to this report.
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