Ninety people, including football fans, joined a colourful noisy protest outside Qatar’s London embassy today, Saturday, November 19, the day before the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
They chanted slogans: “2-4-6-8 Qatar must legislate, 3-5-7-9 Equality for all every time”.
Protest coordinator, Peter Tatchell, said: “We called out the homophobic, sexist and racist regime in Qatar. We also sent a message of love and solidarity with victims of the dictatorship: Qatari LGBTQ+s, women and migrant workers.
“Our aim was to keep the pressure on the Qatari regime and its backers in FIFA, the football governing body that shamefully gave Qatar the World Cup.
“There can be no normal sporting relations with an abnormal regime like Qatar. Football must be a level playing field for all. That’s not compatible with discrimination. If a star Qatari footballer came out as gay, he would be more likely to be jailed than be selected to play for the national team. That’s discrimination and against FIFA’s rules. But FIFA is allowing it to happen.
The protest is urging: “End the criminalisation, jailing, online entrapment, ‘honour’ killing and forced conversion of LGBTQ+s.
“Abolish the male guardian system, whereby women have to get male permission to marry, work, study and travel abroad.
“Compensate the families of dead migrant workers, pay unpaid wages, close overcrowded slum hostels and give workers the right to join a trade union,” Mr Tatchell said.