(Berlin) The German Interior Minister on Tuesday criticized the statements of a former Qatari player, “ambassador” of the Mondial-2022, describing homosexuality as “mental damage”, 12 days before the start of the competition (20 Nov-18 Dec).
Posted yesterday at 6:09 p.m.
“Such statements are horrible,” Nancy Faeser lamented at a press conference in Berlin.
This Qatari “ambassador” of the World Cup, responsible for promoting the event, was interviewed by the German public channel ZDF.
“During the World Cup, a lot of things will happen here in the country. Let’s talk about gay people,” said former Qatari international Khalid Salman.
“The most important thing is that everyone will accept that they come here, but they will have to accept our rules,” adds Mr. Salman.
Homosexuality, “it’s ‘haram'” (which means ‘forbidden’), he believes. “It’s ‘haram’ because it’s mental damage,” adds Mr. Salman, before being interrupted by a press officer.
Solicited by AFP, the organizers of the World Cup did not react immediately.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed the United States’ “great concern” about the remarks and assured that the subject would be raised “directly” with the Qataris.
German international Leon Goretzka also denounced “absolutely unacceptable” remarks after the meeting with Bayern Munich in the German championship. “It’s a vision of man from another millennium,” he added.
Mme Faeser, however, affirmed that she remained confident in the security guarantees for World Cup-2022 spectators obtained from the Qatari Prime Minister during a recent trip to the country.
“It was the Prime Minister who gave it to me, I have no new indications from him that something has changed,” observed the minister on Tuesday.
Visiting Qatar last week, Mr.me Faeser assured that he had obtained “for the first time” “safety guarantees” for all spectators, including LGBT + visitors, in a country where sexual relations between people of the same sex are criminalized.
She had immediately decided to attend Germany’s first match at the 2022 World Cup, against Japan on November 23.
The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani had assured on September 21 that all supporters would be welcomed “without discrimination” during the competition organized in his country (November 20-December 18), in an apparent desire to reassure on welcoming LGBT+ visitors.
FIFA had reaffirmed for its part that rainbow flags, symbols of the LGBT + community, would be authorized around stadiums.
The captains of several European teams – including those of England, France and Germany – will wear rainbow colored armbands with the message ‘One Love’ as part of an anti-discrimination campaign.