2022 World Cup in Qatar (or maybe not...)

2022 World Cup in Qatar

The most corrupt man in sport is now the most bigoted, he has asked travelling fans not to partake in gay sex in Qatar, its against the law in qatar and carries a five year jail setence.

How is that bigoted? Tegal2010-12-14 20:34:25

Perhaps he sould of given a speech, saying football can do what they like, and if qatar doesnt like it, well we will take the world cup away from you.

What world do you live in?

Yeah blackmailing countries to change their laws is a great idea.

A strange bizzaro world.

Dont want him to blackmail, I just didnt want him to clap like a train cuircus seal in support of their homophobic laws.

But he didn't.

And you said he should give a speech saying football can do what they like and if they don't like it then the WC will go - sounds like blackmail to me.

luckily Ashley Cole will be retired by then

The fact that Qatar discriminates against potential attendees is one of many reasons why it should not have been awarded to them. IMHO, no nation should be eligible to host a WC (or Olympics for that matter) if it fails to guarantee equal rights for anyone who may attend.

But of course, FIFA don't want to give the money back admit fault. I don't expect any resolution to this anytime soon.

Ho hum.

I don't really see a joke in the quotes provided in the article I read, though I concede I may not have read the same piece as everyone else. I could imagine a few of the statements delivered with a wry smile but nothing offensive. And I think public displays of affection between heterosexual couples are also frowned on, depending, of course, on the degree of them.  Couple of British couples have had run-ins with the law over there just recently, I believe.

Given the responsibility of hosting, the fact the eyes of the entire world are on them, the fact that many bitter people want them to fail and the fact that most gay couples would have the sense to keep it in the bedroom leads me to believe that there won't be any issues with this at all.

Lighten up. loyalgunner2010-12-15 03:01:44

Well it sounds like Qatar might make concessions in its alcohol laws for the World Cup, why stop there. By 2022 there could be a few openly gay footballers playing and just checking online it seems sodomy irrespective of sex is punishable by up to 5 years in prison (with those laws how does anyone get out of prison )

Agreed.

I'm definitely not going now

Bummer!

I couldn't care less. 

My 2 cents.

I certainly don't like the law but I still think leniency will be applied and I doubt if two men book accommodation together pretending to just be mates they'll be interrogated first to make sure they aren't gay.  Sure, they shouldn't have to pretend to be mates if they really are gay, I get that, but athletes from more conservative areas and their fans travel to tournaments in other places where the laws in some cases probably offend them and go against their values but you don't hear a lot from them (at least I haven't - maybe in their countries there is a fuss).

Don't get me wrong, I don't think the laws are good.  But I do think the Middle East is a massive region to have missed out on a World Cup and Qatar is probably one of the safest places in the region to have it.  If it wasn't for my proximity to Australia there's no way I'd have wanted them to get it.  I want football in the Middle East to do well, partly why I was pleased to see Iraq win the Asian Cup, though they weren't my first choice.  If a team does well from one of those countries it could act as a way to bring people together, like FIFA always harp on about, and will encourage young people to take up the sport.  If this could happen I consider it a greater positive than these laws are negative.  Also, while the laws are harsh I do think it's harsh on the Qatari people if they weren't allowed to host various events based on the laws some people pass, people they may agree with entirely on many issues - especially considering nobody's being forced to attend.

Then there's the fact that from what I hear (I confess, I haven't been) some of the emirates are very modern, at least in some ways.  The World Cup is 12 years away and over that time, who knows, they could get more lenient.  Sure, you don't want to rely on that potentially happening but common sense on an individuals part, taking into account different values, and the fact that the eyes of the world are on Qatar who want to make a good impression, should lead to it going smoothly.

So to summarize this Allwhitebelievr-esque post, I don't think there will be any issues and if there are I think it will involve PDA's which heterosexuals risk just as much.
loyalgunner2010-12-15 17:50:18

Regardless of whether one like their laws, if that is what they believe in then thats the way it should be. After all it is their country, and we are visitors.

I don't dispute this. What I'm saying is these laws should have ruled them ineligible to have their bid considered by FIFA. Yet another serious fault in Qatar's bid that was ignored, this time at the expense of gay football fans. It's too late for that now so I hope somehow that particular f**kup is dealt with, even though Qatar has no obligation to do so.

Loyalgunner - I sincerely hope you're right.
Turfmoore - Well played

Liberal democracies tend to be better off and more peaceful and football aims to spread unity and peace through a common love of the game, so to only allow liberal democracies to host the biggest sporting event on earth based on something like this isn't doing a lot to try and help.

If the World Cup was to be held in several Islamic states in a row then I understand the complaint more fully, but this is a one off and won't happen for another 20-30+ years afterwards.
loyalgunner2010-12-15 22:15:50

+1 to Robb.

Qatar should change their intolerant ways.

They probably will.

People who think they won't relax laws during the World Cup   

I've yet to see a single suggestion from a connected source saying that they will relax laws specifically relating to homosexuality. All I've seen is Sepp saying gay fans shouldn't "break" said laws. If Qatar do announce that they will relax the laws and offer gay attendees the same rights and protections that heterosexual attendees have, then sweet as. Frankly though, FIFA should have obtained that guarantee BEFORE awarding it to them.

I love how people are all up in arms at this considering that gay sex was illegal in this country not so long ago...I wonder if gay rugby fans were making these same points when the Rugby World Cup was awarded to NZ in 1985.

I think Sepp's flippant response was poor form given his position as president of FIFA. A simple "I would expect all football fans attending the 2022 World Cup to respect and obey the local laws" would have sufficed. wolfman2010-12-16 15:16:40

Historical wrongs do not make it right or ok.

+1 to Robb

Have met a few, as hard it is to believe.

Good to see you understood what I was implying...

The first point is really that none of us know how much of an issue this will really be. What we do know, however, is that Qatar is intent on providing a certain positive image of itself and the Middle East in general for this World Cup, and have already indicated that it would liberalise its position in terms of alcohol availability and Israel for the duration of the Cup in pursuit of this goal. They have 12 years to rationalise and work out how they're going to approach issues like this - and they know they will have to make compromises to avoid getting negative press which a lot of people in the West are seemingly just waiting for, and the people in the Middle East are desperate to avoid. Does anyone here honestly expect that a gay fan will be chased through the streets of Doha by a bunch of Qatari police wielding scimitars?

More generally, to expect FIFA to adopt political criteria when selecting World Cup hosts is just simply naive. Although FIFA inevitably involves itself in politicking simply due to the size and importance of the game globally, it has been careful to always position itself as a non-political body. This is as much about self-preservation than anything else - start looking at individual member nation's politics when assessing their bids, and it opens up a whole clusterf**k within FIFA - you don't like our laws against homosexuals? What about the plethora of other countries with human rights abuses? Or those that illegally invade other countries? Or those that have a death penalty? Or those that don't allow Muslim women to wear the traditional garb? You honestly think that FIFA would EVER willingly go down that path? Or that it should? el grapadura2010-12-16 21:56:21

I think your comments are OK, but the fact is that a huge number of football supporters will not go to Qatar, and I don't blame them.

A huge number of football supporters don't go to any World Cup. So i'm not sure what your point is there.

My point is that with all the negative press re heat, Muslum laws etc. a lot of Europeans won't go.
FIFA will more than likely change the dates to Jan

There is zero chance of them changing the dates. I can't believe you would fall for this.

I have not fallen for anything. There have been reports coming out of Asia and Europe that some teams will boycott the WC if they have to play in 40 plus.
I know that there is meant to be air con, but what about training etc.
If you have ever played in these conditions Buffy you might appreciate what others are worried about.

All playing facilities will be temperature regulated, same goes for all fan related areas.

No way will the clubs let a World Cup take place in January, that's when you really would see a boycott take place. Otherwise, it's all rubbish.