The Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has been accused of being “shockingly tone deaf” after he suggested that gay football fans travelling to the Qatar World Cup should “compromise” to stay safe
He added: “One of the things I would say for football fans is, you know, please do be respectful of the host nation. They are trying to ensure that people can be themselves and enjoy the football, and I think with a little bit of flex and compromise at both ends, it can be a safe, secure and exciting World Cup.”
Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, said: “This is shockingly tone deaf from James Cleverly. Sport should be open to all. Many fans will feel they can’t attend this tournament to cheer on their team because of Qatar’s record on human, workers, and LGBT+ rights. England LGBT fan group 3Lionspride posted on Twitter: “With respect, this is an extremely unhelpful intervention that shows a lack of understanding and context. To insinuate that an acceptable and proportionate safety measure is to ‘be less queer’ forces us back into the closet and risks mental health crises.”
It comes after Peter Tatchell, the veteran British LGBT rights campaigner, said on Tuesday that he was, in which he held a banner that read: “Qatar arrests, jails & subjects LGBTs to ‘conversion’. #QatarAntiGay.”