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LGBTQ folx and allies keep finding clever ways to defy Qatar’s ban of rainbow flags at the World Cup

 

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LGBTQ allies have found sneaky ways to support queer civil rights at the World Cup in Qatar, even though officials at the soccer tournament seem determined to ban any rainbows from appearing at the stadium.

FIFA, the international body governing professional soccer, said that it would issue yellow cards and other serious penalties against any teams whose members wear rainbow armbands on-field.

Many European teams had planned on wearing the armbands, which featured a heart with multi-colored stripes and the words “One Love.” They were meant to be a quiet but powerful protest against the country’s anti-gay laws worn. However, all the teams abandoned the plan after FIFA’s homophobic threats.

Homosexual acts are punishable by imprisonment and death in Qatar, where Islam is the state religion. Anti-LGBTQ harassment by government officials also goes unchecked, human rights advocates say.

And although the country’s officials and World Cup CEO Nasser Al Khater both guaranteed the safety of LGBTQ visitors and fans who display rainbow flags at games, police and stadium officials have reportedly been confiscating rainbow flags from fans, ostensibly to prevent them from being attacked by angry locals who oppose LGBTQ rights.

Despite this, queer allies are still making their voices heard.

BBC sports reporter Alex Scott wore a One Love armband while reporting at the World Cup on-field:

The German soccer team also published a protest photo against the armband ban. In the photo, the teammates uniformly stand with one hand covering their mouths.

“We wanted to use our captain’s armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect. Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard,” the team wrote in a tweet thread.

“It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us. Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position,” the team added.

And Dr. Nasser Mohamed, a gay Qatari living in the country, has started The Proud Maroons, an organization for Qatar’s LGBTQ football fans.

The sad irony of the group is that Qataris can’t actually become members because they’d face possible arrest and other violence for doing so.

The group calls itself “The LGBTQ+ National Football Supporters’ Group that Qatar never wanted.”

Mohamed said that most media World Cup coverage has focused on LGBTQ tourists rather than the challenges faced by queer locals, Outsports reported this week.

He said the real purpose of the group is “to ask the rest of the LGBTQ community to join and be proud Proud Maroons for us on our behalf, and show we are one community, and that human rights are global.”

 

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