People in Brighton have said that they do not support the World Cup in Qatar due to the state’s record on human rights.
Many said that holding the prestigious tournament in the country was wrong due to a range of issues including the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community and the record on migrant workers.
However, there were others who believed that fans in Qatar for the winter World Cup should respect the laws of the country where homosexuality is illegal and drinking alcohol is not a large part of the culture.
Linus, 22, and Ebba, 21, said that they would not be following the competition as closely due to issues with Qatar.
Linus, who was visiting Brighton from Sweden, said: “I don’t think I will watch a lot of it. The problem is that not everyone is welcome there, I think that everyone should be welcome but Qatari law says that gay people can be punished by death.”
Under Islamic Sharia Law, homosexuality is illegal and can be punishable by death, but there have been no cases of this in Qatar. Under Qatari law, criminal acts of “sodomy” carry a maximum 12 year sentence.
Garry Sillence, from Hove, said: “It’s just a massively inappropriate place to hold the World Cup.
“I think what bothers me is that all of that is in the public sphere but the tournament is still happening.”
Another man, James, said: “The right political gesture would just be not to go. Anything else is virtue signalling.”
“Lots of countries are bending over backwards to accommodate Qatar. I will watch it with a bitter taste in my mouth.”
However, John Saunders, disagreed, saying that people should “obey the rules of the country”.
He added that issues with human rights would not faze him when watching the tournament as “It goes on all over the world, there’s not much we can do to influence that”.
His wife, Jane, said that she "didn't really watch it" as she did not like football.
The Qatar World Cup started on Sunday, November 20, when Qatar took on Ecuador. England play their first game today where they face Iran in Doha.
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