Grant Wahl, Journalist Who Cricized Qatar's Anti-Gay Polici, Di Sudnly While Coverg World Cup Doha - TheWrap

Contents:

• CONFN, EXASPERATN AND DATG APPS – MY MONTH AS A GAY REPORTER AT THE QATAR WORLD CUP
• GRANT WAHL, JOURNALIST WHO CRICIZED QATAR’S ANTI-GAY POLICI, DI SUDNLY WHILE COVERG WORLD CUP DOHA
• "AM GAY...": MAN WH RABOW T-SHIRT DI DAYS AFTER DETENTN IN QATAR
• GAY MAN 'HUNTED' BY QATAR POLICE AND GANG-RAPED HOTEL ROOM AHEAD OF WORLD CUP

CONFN, EXASPERATN AND DATG APPS – MY MONTH AS A GAY REPORTER AT THE QATAR WORLD CUP

I was a gay reporter Qatar for four weeks. I was fortunate, too, that The Athletic’s football edor is a gay man who felt the issue should be explored. And, this suatn at least, to be gay affords a blsg not granted to other mory groups: n be hidn.

It meant tailg and unrstandg how and why LGBT+ people — and that bloody armband — beme one of the them of the here is a gay guy’s acunt of the past month, reportg the World Cup Qatar. Grdr, however, is more of a hook-up app and is often the most direct wdow to the lol gay muny. There were gay or bisexual men om across the Gulf regn.

Gianni Infanto speaks ntroversially ahead of the tournament (Photo: Christopher Lee/Getty Imag)Homosexual behavur is illegal Qatar, as is sex outsi of marriage, regardls of sexual orientatn, so some of what I am scribg may e as a surprise.

GRANT WAHL, JOURNALIST WHO CRICIZED QATAR’S ANTI-GAY POLICI, DI SUDNLY WHILE COVERG WORLD CUP DOHA

“I go to a hook-up bee I crave pany and nnectn, even if is fleetg, ” says one gay man, whose inty is ncealed to protect his inty. Some gay men said they lead secretive liv wh partners. Several gay men scribed their fear of police entrapment, as well as s of btal sexual abe.

The hostily is worse for those nsired feme, or trans, unrlg that so much about homophobia is unrpned by warped perceptns of the tournament, many Wtern journalists had obssed over whether men would be able to hold hands Doha. Several gay men were rigned to unfulfilled personal liv, forced to marry women to su society, whether Qatar or neighbourg stat.

They explaed that fay and relign do the job of the state, imposg a cloak of shame over homosexualy.

"AM GAY...": MAN WH RABOW T-SHIRT DI DAYS AFTER DETENTN IN QATAR

One said he was prepared to set asi his own happs bee he feared his father would be stigmatised by his fay if he was known to have a gay person shared so many of the same terts as me. He has enjoyed gay sexual enunters but never his own untry, for fear of reprisals. He said he had no gay iends wh whom he uld share his feelgs.

I was shown, for example, s of psychologists speakg out agast homosexualy on social media. But if he thks that (he is gay), then I would talk to him and te him about .

GAY MAN 'HUNTED' BY QATAR POLICE AND GANG-RAPED HOTEL ROOM AHEAD OF WORLD CUP

”Brighton is often scribed as England’s gay pal, which mak the nversatn untentnally funny — to me, fd some mon ground: “It’s not somethg you n ntrol, ” he says. Instead, was a multi-loured pattern that stopped short of clarg self as a statement relatg specifilly to LGBT+ people or gay rights Qatar. A 959-word statement on the English FA’s webse scribed the armband as a mpaign to “stop discrimatn” but did not mentn the words “gay” or “LGBT” relatn to the FA chief executive Mark Bullgham scribed the armband “as a visible show of support for cln football — somethg we strongly believe and have nsistently supported”.