UK foreign secretary James Cleverly has said that he will attend the FIFA World Cup in Qatar over November and December in a governmental capacity to help ensure the safety of British football supporters.
Cleverly informed the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Monday that he would attend the tournament and would also be speaking to the authorities in Qatar to ensure that any supporters travelling from the UK would “remain safe”.
The foreign secretary added that he’d visited the Middle Eastern country ahead of the competition and had informed local officials that “they should respect gay fans”.
Homosexuality is deemed immoral under Islam’s Sharia law and any same-sex sexual activity or sexual activity outside of marriage is punishable in Qatar.
While Cleverly has asked Qatari officials to ensure that any homosexual supporters travelling to the country are respected, he has faced criticism in the UK for asking homosexuals not to protest while abroad and obey the laws of the host nation for their own safety.
Cleverly said: “When British nationals travel overseas, they should respect the laws of their host country.
“Genuinely, my question is, for those gay fans who want to go watch the football, what advice realistically should I give other than the advice I believe will keep them safe?”
Current advice issued by the Foreign Office for those travelling to Qatar states that “any intimacy between persons in public can be considered offensive, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or intent”. However, there are no warnings that homosexuality is illegal in the country included in that advice.
Meanwhile, Qatar has said that it will welcome all fans for the World Cup “without discrimination”.
It is not solely the Gulf state’s stance on homosexuality that has come under attack ahead of the tournament, with Qatar’s human rights record also facing scrutiny.
Thousands of migrant workers perished in Qatar during the process of building the infrastructure to host the World Cup, such as the stadiums.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that he and his shadow cabinet will boycott the competition, while his party colleague Chris Bryant believes that the World Cup should never have been awarded to Qatar by world football's governing body, FIFA.
Bryant said: “I don't think the World Cup should even have been given to Qatar because workers have been killed in building the buildings, migrants have been treated appallingly and gay men are regularly entrapped by police officers and then sent to prison - particularly if you're a Muslim in Qatar you can face the death penalty.”
“So, I don't think any of it should be happening but then you (the foreign secretary) come out and say gay people should respect Qatar - it does feel a bit of a slap in the face (to gay football fans).”
The World Cup in Qatar begins on Sunday.
Image by Richard Townshend on Wikimedia Commons
