An ambassador for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday called homosexuality a “mental disorder” and said everyone who traveled to watch the competition live “has to accept the rules” of the country.
“A lot of things are going to happen here in the country during the World Cup. Let’s talk about homosexuals. The most important thing is to accept that everyone comes, but they will have to accept our rules,” said Khalid Salman, in an interview with ZDF television, which will be broadcast in full today.
In an excerpt from the interview, Salman, a former footballer, stated that “homosexuality is ‘haram’ [proibido]”, and, before being interrupted by an assistant, he added: “‘It’s ‘haram’ because it’s a mental disorder.”
On September 21, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, promised, before the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a World Cup without discrimination, in an attempt to reassure the LGBT+ community.
Recently, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, responding to concerns about respect for the rights of women and the LGBT+ community during the competition, reiterated that “everyone is welcome, regardless of their origin, training, religion, gender, sexual orientation or nationality” and considered that the tournament will be “the best of all, on and off the field”.
In 1990, the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from the list of diseases and related health problems. A year later, Amnesty International considered that discrimination against homosexuals was a violation of human rights.
Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal, hosts the Soccer World Cup, in which the Portuguese team will participate, between November 20 and December 18.
Source: TSF
