Australian footballer Josh Cavallo would be welcome at next year’s World Cup, the chief executive of the tournament in Qatar has said, despite the country’s laws against homosexuality.
The Adelaide United player, who became the world’s only current openly gay top-flight professional footballer when he came out last month, told the Guardian at the time he would be “scared” to play in the Gulf state.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and punishable by a penalties ranging from flogging to imprisonment and execution, but tournament organiser Nasser Al Khater assured gay fans they could feel safe there, as long as they act conservatively.
“We welcome him [Cavallo] here in the state of Qatar, we welcome him to come and see, even prior to the World Cup,” Al Khater told CNN. “Nobody feels threatened here, nobody feels unsafe here. (Guardian)