Rainbow is a point of tension for the Qatari regime, which eased restrictions on the World Cup

In order to receive tourists of different nationalities, Qatar decided to cool down its regime. He turned a blind eye, for example, to recommendations that visitors should wear clothes that avoided showing shoulders and were above the knees. It hasn’t stopped out-of-wedlock couples from booking rooms together, although premarital sex can get you up to seven years in prison.

And although its legislation makes homosexuality a crime punishable by death, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said the community would be welcome. The rainbow, however, remains a point of tension at the World Cup in Qatar.

The prohibitive legislation against the LGBTQIA+ group in the country has restricted the combination of colors in several items, regardless of their purpose. Qatari security forces have been confiscating objects and cracking down on fans regardless of whether they are related to the cause.

In mid-November, for example, the Pernambuco flag was confused with the LGBTQIA+ symbol around the Lusail stadium. Victor Pereira, 28, used to carry his pennant in his backpack in order to take pictures with fellow countrymen.

On one of the occasions, a man saw the woman from Pernambuco with whom the Brazilian had just registered with the flag in his hands, took the fabric from her and trampled on the pennant. Pereira had already walked away and, upon seeing the aggression, started filming. When the man noticed, he took the cell phone from her hands and threatened to break it. Upon noticing the movement, a police officer approached and, instead of protecting the Brazilians, deleted the video from Victor’s cell phone.

“I was asked if I thought that the flag of Pernambuco could be a problem. No. The flag of Pernambuco is not even a rainbow, it is an arc with three colors”, he says.

A similar situation happened to the cameraman who accompanied the BBC journalist, Natalie Pirks. in Al Khor, as he wore a rainbow-colored watch strap.

“I have just arrived at Al Bayt Stadium for the England game and my cameraman, wearing the colored watch strap his son gave him, was stopped by security and refused entry. Clearly, FIFA’s message is still not getting across.” , wrote Pirks.

In the following post, without giving too many details, the journalist informs that she managed to enter the stadium.

The same is true if the rainbow is used in favor of the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Professor Justin Martin, who teaches at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said in a post on his Twitter that a man pushed him against the door of the city’s subway because he was carrying a small flag with the colors of the rainbow. Still another would have called it “disgusting”.

“A Polish fan said that man said he was going to kill me,” he wrote.

In the match of Wales against the United States, at the Ahmad bin Ali stadium, supporters had their hats of the European team confiscated by the rainbows present around the item.

“No men, only women?” says The Rainbow Wall, an LGBTQIA+ fan account in the country.

About a week after the match, an official FIFA position indicated that rainbow-colored items would be allowed in the World Cup arenas. FIFA said it was aware of incidents where cleared items were being withheld from stadiums and had received assurances from local authorities regarding compliance with these rules.

For anthropologist Francirosy Campos Barbosa, a professor at USP (University of São Paulo) and coordinator of the coordinator of Gracias (Group of Anthropology in Islamic and Arab Contexts), the repressive vigilance around the LGBTQIA+ rainbow, but cooled down to other sensitive issues for the regime, it occurs because the family composed of man and woman is fundamental in Islam.

Qatari law is based on “sharia”, traditional Islamic law.

“Religion has this thing where you don’t show your sin,” he points out. “So from the moment you put on a shirt, that you express it, you are exposing your sin.”

Qatar is known for its restrictive laws regarding human rights. Since it was announced to host the World Cup, activists have been encouraging a boycott of the event.

Months before the start of the championship, the organization Human Rights Watch issued a note stating that Qatari security forces arbitrarily arrested gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders.

In November, former Qatar international and World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman called homosexuality “mental damage”. He added that being gay is a “haram”, a forbidden sin in Islam.