Qatar's men's World Cup - 23rd November 2022

The men's World Cup in Qatar began with a spectacular opening ceremony. But controversy continues around whether or not the event should ever have been awarded to the Middle Eastern country. There have been accusations of corruption and bribery in the bidding system and concerns over human rights abuses in the country.

The infrastructure for the event’s been built mainly using immigrant labour. Dozens of workers have died during the work, and human rights organizations have argued their work conditions have been akin to slavery.

In London people gathered outside the Qatari Embassy in protest against what’s seen as Qatar’s abuse of human rights, particularly concerning migrant workers, women and LGBTQ+ communities. Peter Tatchell’s a human rights activist.

Peter Tatchell: "Hosting a major sporting event is a privilege, not a right and with privileges comes obligations including the obligation to respect the principle of universal human rights enshrined by the United Nations. Qatar is in violation of those universal human rights principles and on those grounds alone, it is unfit to host the World Cup."

In Qatar homosexuality’s illegal and can be punished by up to three years in prison. Same-sex marriage or civil partnerships aren’t recognised and the law doesn’t allow people in Qatar to campaign for LGBTQ+ rights.

This has sparked condemnation from the international community including football commentators, celebrities and even football players themselves. The captains of 7 European teams including the Wales and England teams had announced they’d wear 'One Love' armbands as a statement against discrimination.

However, they've backed down due to a threat from FIFA to issue them with yellow cards. England will still take the knee before their matches in a gesture - a protest against prejudice.