London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jan 09, 2026

World Cup 2022: Gay Wales fans refuse to go to Qatar

World Cup 2022: Gay Wales fans refuse to go to Qatar

A gay Welsh football fan fears it is not safe for him and his husband to travel to the World Cup in Qatar.

Tournament organisers have said "everybody is welcome" despite homosexuality being illegal in Qatar.

But Seiriol Dawes-Hughes and husband Jamie said they would not travel this November, despite Wales qualifying for the first time in 64 years.

"Before my husband and I go on holiday, the first thing we do is Google gay rights in that country," he said.

"That's something that straight people do not have to do, but it's something that we do every time and it's remarkable how many countries that people go to regularly aren't safe for people like us, and Qatar is definitely one of those."

Fatma Al-Nuaimi, communications executive director of Qatar's supreme committee for organising the tournament, told BBC Sport this year's World Cup was a "tournament for everyone".

Many LGBTQ+ supporters have already said they are boycotting the tournament over civil rights issues


However, some of the Welsh national football team's staff, as well as members of Wales' official LGBTQ+ supporters' group, the Rainbow Wall, are boycotting Qatar over gay rights.

"This is front and centre for us as Welsh football fans and working in the industry," said Mr Dawes-Hughes, 35, from Caernarfon, Gwynedd.

"But there is no way I would go and it's an absolute disgrace that the World Cup is being held there."

First Minister Mark Drakeford has said Wales should "not look the other way" from human rights concerns, while FAW chief executive Noel Mooney said the team would use the event as a "platform" to discuss the issue.

"This is the clearest and most brazen example of sportswashing I can think of," said Mr Dawes-Hughes.

Sportswashing is a term describing countries using sport to improve their image abroad.

"If this was the women's World Cup then a large percentage of the players [who are gay] could not play," he said.

"So the idea that Welsh female players can't go to support their male counterparts in the first World Cup since '58 is completely unacceptable."

Wales players celebrate qualifying for their first World Cup since 1958


He added: "When the decision was made to host the World Cup in Qatar the footballing community needed to come together but that did not happen and it's now too late.

"We have turned a blind eye to human rights and rights of gay people.

"It shows a complete lack of backbone in the football community to make a stand against this. It's unacceptable to host the World Cup in Qatar but it's happening and what can we do - nothing."

Llanelli MP Dame Nia Griffith said: "I fully understand why fans from LGBT community are very nervous about going or perhaps have decided not to go for those reasons and that is very very sad.

"But we need to tackle these issues when decisions are taken on where these events are held."

The FAW said it was part of a working group, with other European nations attending the World Cup, around the matter.

A spokesman added: "The participating nations are keen to influence change as we fully believe in fans being their authentic selves."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
×