FIFA to cancel Qatar’s ‘anti-gay’ hotels World Cup contracts

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FIFA has threatened to cancel the contracts of hotels and other service providers in Qatar for this year’s World Cup that discriminate against gay people after an investigation revealed some had refused to allow same-sex couples to stay.

The survey conducted by Danish and Swedish media also found World Cup hotels had asked customers to modify their behaviour during their visit, including one insisting that patrons do not ‘dress gay’. A further 20 hotels advised the couple to modify their behaviour to avoid public displays of affection during their stay.

While thirty-three hotels on the recommended list for the World Cup, which opens in Qatar on November 21, accepted the male couple could book, the survey found one third did not or had concerns.

FIFA reportedly held crisis talks with Qatari organisations after the investigation was published.

In a statement, FIFA pledged to ‘ensure that the hotels mentioned are once again made aware of our strict requirements in relation to welcoming guests in a non-discriminatory manner’.

‘Hotels, as well as any other service provider associated with the FIFA World Cup, who fail to comply with the high standards set by the organisers will have their contracts terminated,’ FIFA added in a statement to The Telegraph.

‘On top of that, the said requirements will continue to be reinforced in awareness raising sessions and subsequently monitored and evaluated through audits and inspections of hotels linked to the FIFA World Cup.’

Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and according to Amnesty International, same-sex relationships can lead to criminal charges and a prison sentence of up to seven years.

It is one of the many controversies to have plagued the build-up to the World Cup in Qatar but FIFA President Gianni Infantino insisted that ‘all are welcome’ in the host country.

Infantino also urged LGBTQ fans and all others to attend the tournament and ‘engage and speak and convince’ in a bid to influence the Gulf Arab state’s policies at an event in November last year, as he switched on a World Cup countdown clock in Doha.

source: dailymail.co.uk