Wednesday, October 09, 2013

Peter Tatchell: ‘FIFA Has No Option But to Cancel Qatar World Cup’ over Tests to ‘Detect’ Gays

PINK NEWS: Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has called on FIFA to cancel the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as it was revealed that Gulf Cooperative Countries introduced new rules to “detect” and ban gay people from entering the country.

Mr Tatchell said the new rules, announced earlier this week, “will mean that gay players and spectators will be banned from attending the football world cup.”

Speaking to PinkNews, he said: “There is no known medical test to detect homosexuality. I wonder what quackery the Kuwaiti authorities plan to invent in their vain attempt to identify gay men. It simply won’t work.

“Banning gay people from entering the country will deter foreign investors and companies. They won’t want to subject their employees to such barbaric, medieval humiliations.

“The proposal that this gay ban will apply across all Gulf Cooperation Countries will mean that gay players and spectators will be banned from attending the football world cup in Qatar in 2022. This contradicts previous assurances given to FIFA by the Qatar government that everyone will be welcome and that there will be no discrimination.

“FIFA now has no option but to cancel the world cup in Qatar. Allowing it to go head in these circumstances would involve FIFA colluding with homophobic discrimination.” » | Joseph Patrick McCormack | Tuesday, October 08, 2013

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