BERLIN — A Qatar World Cup ambassador has told German television broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was "damage in the mind", as the Gulf state prepares to host the global tournament in less than two weeks.
In an interview filmed in Doha and to be screened later on Tuesday, former Qatari international Khalid Salman addressed the issue of homosexuality, which is illegal in the conservative Muslim country.
I know what you’re thinking: “This is insane. Nobody would intentionally miss the World Cup. It’s the largest event on the planet, and for the players, it's something they’ve dreamed about since childhood.”
And to an extent, you’d be correct, but this story isn’t exactly about injuries. It’s about social issues and the appalling track record of the nation that's hosting the tournament. Could it be remotely possible that players would feign injury to avoid being part of an event that's riddled with human rights abuses?
The United States’ largest soccer supporters group, the American Outlaws, came under fire Thursday following a New York Times article claiming that a board member accepted a free trip to Qatar in exchange for reporting individuals who are critical of the host nation. The Outlaws have vehemently denied these allegations and issued a statement, saying the organization has never taken money from FIFA or Qatar and will never do so.
As part of their coverage around the World Cup, Telemundo – in collaboration with LX News – will present a special podcast focused on prominent soccer stars that are trying to change the world by speaking out about different social topics, including gun violence, racism and LGBTQ rights.
The new podcast is called Mi Mundialista Favorito / My New Favorite Futbolista and is a bilingual show hosted by former Colombian international Juan Pablo Ángel and Eric Álvarez.
Merritt Paulson, the CEO of the Portland Thorns and their Major League Soccer counterparts, the Timbers, said he was removing himself effective immediately, following a report that detailed abuse in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Statement From Merritt Paulson
The United States women’s national team and England’s national team shared a moment before Friday’s friendly to show support for all the victims of the NWSL’s abuse scandal. An independent investigation from Sally Q. Yates and King & Spalding LLP revealed the top women’s soccer league in the U.S. had a systemic misconduct and abuse problems.
England and the United States will come together to show their support for the victims of the abuse scandal that has rocked the U.S. National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) when the countries meet in a friendly on Friday, Lionesses forward Beth Mead said.
An independent investigation this week showed abuse and misconduct "had become systemic" in the American top-flight and that the league, teams and governing body U.S. Soccer failed to adequately protect players.
Luego de ver que Dinamarca ocultó sus escudos en el diseño de sus jerseys, como protesta a las miles de muertes causadas en la construcción de estadios para el Mundial de Catar, el analista de ESPN México, David Faitelson se inspiró y sugirió en su cuenta de Twitter que el Tri debería llevar la bandera de la comunidnad LGBT+ en una de sus playeras.
Hummel, the designer for Denmark’s World Cup kits, released the Danish jerseys on Wednesday with a message to host nation Qatar. Hummel announced that the kits they designed are in memory of the thousands of migrant workers who died building Qatar’s World Cup infrastructure.
"While we support the Danish national team all the way, this shouldn't be confused with support for a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives,” Hummel’s statement said.
Racism in soccer reared its ugly head on Tuesday during a friendly game between Brazil and Tunisia when fans of the African nation threw a banana at Richarlison while he celebrated a goal.
Richarlison scoring for Brazil today against Tunisia and a banana was thrown in front of him during the celebrations. Sickening stuff and no need for these type of racist fans at matches. pic.twitter.com/DQlKIBcMTm