World Cup Controversy:

By Greta J.

The World Cup is one of the most watched sports events in the world. This year, people who come to the stadiums to watch the game might bring pride flags, which support LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. The reason for this is because the World Cup is being held in Qatar, and in Qatar, it is illegal to be gay or lesbian. Adding to the controversy, fans have reported that they have to hand over their pride flags and rainbow-items at the door or be denied entry into the game, according to The Washington Post.

Justin Martin, a U.S. citizen living in Qatar, was holding a small rainbow flag on the metro on his way to the U.S. opener against Wales when two people asked him to put the flag away. He didn’t want to. One of the people became agitated and called him "disgusting, " according to AP News. 

Qatar has had a lot of problems in the past with the LGBTQ  community because in Qatar, there is violence to LGBTQ people, according to  Human Dignity Trust. If two people of the same gender engage in a homosexual act, they could be sentenced the death penalty (Human Dignity Trust). For this reason, soccer players playing at the World Cup wanted to wear rainbow armbands in support the LGBTQ community but FIFA said a yellow card would be issued on the field to any player with the One Love ban, according to The Washington Post.

Sports fans may be wearing LGBTQ attire to help make gay and queer people in Qatar feel more confident about themselves.  Others are protesting against the restrictions. Regardless, the Qatari World Cup has millions of TV viewers who learning about this issue.