Don’t Be Shocked I Have Sex With Other Men, Gay Football Fan Tells Qatar’s Ambassador

Don’t Be Shocked I Have Sex With Other Men, Gay Football Fan Tells Qatar’s Ambassador
Image: Dario Minden (left) and Qatar’s ambassador to Germany, Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani.

Gay men have challenged Qatar’s death penalty for homosexuality, demanding the nation to change its anti-LGBTQI laws in the lead up to this year’s World Cup.

Currently homosexuality in Qatar  is illegal and, under the Penal Code (2004), which criminalises acts of ‘sodomy’ and ‘sexual intercourse’ between people of the same sex. The law carries punishments of up to three years in prison and a fine and the possibility of the death penalty for Muslims under sharia law (though there are no known instances of the death penalty being enforced in the past).

In Jult 2022, out gay Australian football player Josh Cavallo said that while he had dreams to play at the World Cup but questioned whether he would be safe in Qatar.

During a human rights conference in Frankfurt, hosted by the German Football Association, fan representative Dario Minden addressed Qatar’s ambassador, Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Thani, and called for the abolition of the death penalty for homosexuality. 

‘I Love Men’

 “I’m a man and I love men. I do, please don’t be shocked, have sex with other men. This is normal. So please get used to it or stay out of football. Because the most important rule in football is that football is for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re lesbian, if you’re gay. It’s for everyone. For the boys. For the girls. And for everyone in between,” Minden said

Minden called for the elimination of all penalties regarding sexual and gender identity. “The rule that football is for everyone is so important. We cannot allow you to break it, no matter how rich you are. You are more than welcome to join the international football community and, of course, to host a big tournament. But in sports, it is how it is. You have to accept the rules,” Minden said. 

Prior to Minden’s speech, Al Thani reportedly declared that speaking on human rights issues was a distraction from the World Cup, despite the title of the event being, “Sport and Human Rights.” 

“We all care about human rights. But I would have enjoyed (it) more if I saw some concentration not only on just one subject, but the enjoyment of football and the football effect on people around the world,” Al Thani said. 

‘We Are Not Perfect’

Josh Cavallo Questions His Safety in Qatar Amidst Dreams of Playing in World Cup

Al Thani was offered the chance to respond to Minden, but his comments were closed to the news media. Only the opening 90 minutes of the federation’s congress were broadcast to the public and televised coverage was prevented according to the Associated Press.  No journalists were invited to the event.

Federation spokesman Steffen Simon said it was not the organisation’s decision to hold most of the congress off camera, but “we received a clear request from some participants that they would like to discuss these matters internally with us. They did not want to discuss in public. We respected that.”

Al Thani spoke about Qatar’s removal of the controversial kafala system which required migrant workers to have a sponsor (which left many workers vulnerable to exploitation), and that the country had introduced a minimum working wage and a compensation fund for workers to make claims of rights abuses.

“Yes, we are not perfect. We are not claiming we are perfect, but it’s a journey that we will write,” Al Thani said.



 

 

 

 

You May Also Like

Comments are closed.