Gay footballer Josh Cavallo says he would be 'sred' to play at the 2022 World Cup Qatar | CNN

Contents:

• THIS GAY QATARI STARTED AN LGBTQ SOCCER FAN GROUP TO EXPOSE ABE HIS HOME UNTRY
• ‘NOBODY FEELS UNSAFE HERE’: GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO TOLD HE IS WELE AT QATAR WORLD CUP
• GAY ATRALIAN FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS WORLD CUP SHOULDN’T BE GOG TO QATAR, WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS ILLEGAL
• GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO WOULD BE ‘SRED’ TO PLAY AT WORLD CUP QATAR
• JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’
• GARY LEKER HOP MALE GAY FOOTBALLER WILL E OUT DURG QATAR WORLD CUP
• GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS HE WOULD BE ‘SRED’ TO PLAY AT THE 2022 WORLD CUP QATAR
• GAY FOOTBALLER JAKE DANIELS SLAMS ‘TRATG’ QATAR WORLD CUP AND LLS OUT LACK OF ‘RPECT’
• GAY QATARIS PHYSILLY ABED THEN RECED AS AGENTS, MPAIGNER SAYS

THIS GAY QATARI STARTED AN LGBTQ SOCCER FAN GROUP TO EXPOSE ABE HIS HOME UNTRY

“I’m really highlightg the hypocrisy of ‘gay fans are wele’ by creatg an LGBTQ football supporter group for their own natnal team, the Maroons, to say, ‘This is an LGBTQ supporters group that nnot have LGBTQ supporters om s own natn jo , bee they would be persecuted, ” said Mohamed this week on my podst, The Sports Kiki.

That required g out as gay, which for Mohamed, meant potentially cuttg ti wh his fay forever. Atralian footballer Josh Cavallo would be wele at next year’s World Cup, the chief executive of the tournament Qatar has said, spe the untry’s laws agast Alai Uned player, who beme the world’s only current openly gay top-flight profsnal footballer when he me out last month, told the Guardian at the time he would be “sred” to play the Gulf state. Homosexualy is illegal Qatar and punishable by a penalti rangg om floggg to imprisonment and executn, but tournament aniser Nasser Al Khater assured gay fans they uld feel safe there, as long as they act nservatively.

“They [gay people] will be g to Qatar as fans of a football tournament.

‘NOBODY FEELS UNSAFE HERE’: GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO TOLD HE IS WELE AT QATAR WORLD CUP

”Homosexualy is potentially punishable by the ath penalty for Mlims the untry unr sharia law, although human rights reports have said there is no evince any gay people have been executed for the 2022 Qatar World Cup chief executive Nasser Al Khater. “I read somethg along the l of that [they] give the ath penalty for gay people Qatar, so ’s somethg I’m very sred [of] and wouldn’t really want to go to Qatar for that, ” he said. At the end of the day the World Cup is Qatar and one of the greatt achievements as a profsnal footballer is to play for your untry, and to know that this is a untry that don’t support gay people and puts at risk of our own life, that do sre me and mak me re-evaluate – is my life more important than dog somethg really good my reer?

GAY ATRALIAN FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS WORLD CUP SHOULDN’T BE GOG TO QATAR, WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS ILLEGAL

World's only openly gay active pro footballer is ncerned for LGBTQ muny ahead of Qatar 2022. It has been almost a year sce Josh Cavallo announced he is gay, but even now he still stggl to prehend the far-reachg impact his announcement has had – pecially as he has begun to speak out on major issu, notably the Qatar World Cup. A year on, Cavallo remas the only openly gay top-flight male footballer the world – he plays for Alai Uned Atralia’s A League – but his cisn spired Jake Daniels, a forward for English send divisn club Blackpool, to e out May of this year.

“It was jt the uncertaty, seeg that there was no active gay footballer that’s e out before and there was no plan wh , ” he rells. Fashanu beme the first openly gay profsnal footballer after g out 1990 while playg the English top flight, but the backlash he suffered eventually led him to take his own life eight years later. “It is so great to be gay.

Earlier this month, former Spa ternatnals Iker Casillas and Carl Puyol were wily cricized after the former posted a tweet claimg he was gay. In a now leted post on his official Twter acunt, Casillas wrote: “I hope I’ll be rpected: I’m gay.

GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO WOULD BE ‘SRED’ TO PLAY AT WORLD CUP QATAR

Cavallo says the exchange between Casillas and Puyol prov football still has “got a long way to go” to eradite homophobia, even if the sport has recently ma steps the right directn. The world’s only openly gay top‑flight men’s footballer says he would be “sred” to play at the World Cup tournament Qatar next year bee of the emirate’s harsh ban on homosexualy and legal penalti rangg om floggg to lengthy prison terms and Cavallo, 21, who plays for Alai Uned Atralia’s A-League, received a wave of support om football fans and current and former players last month after openg up about his sexualy a vio posted to the club’s social media feeds. ”The announcement ma Cavallo the only out gay player men’s profsnal football, his isolatn stark a sport whose admistrators have lnched high-profile public mpaigns recent years embracg LGBT fans and only a handful of male players have ever e out, ntrast to the women’s game, which has easily blown past the same barrier: more than 40 lbian or bisexual players took part the 2019 women’s World Cup France, acrdg to Fifa.

Crics have raised the fact that Fifa ntu to award World Cups to untri such as Rsia – where homophobia has been lled a “state‑sponsored” project – and Qatar, where same-sex acts are illegal, as evince of the erng body’s patchy mment to if holdg the tournament a untry wh strict penalti for homosexualy sent the wrong msage to gay footballers and fans, Cavallo, who has played for Atralia’s unr-20s ternatnal si, told the Guardian’s daily news podst that he would be aaid for his safety if asked to participate the 2022 Qatar World Cup. 'I'm a footballer and I'm gay': A-League player Josh Cavallo talks about his sexualy – vio“I read somethg along the l of that [they] give the ath penalty for gay people Qatar, so ’s somethg I’m very sred [of] and wouldn’t really want to go to Qatar for that, ” he said.

”Homosexual acts are banned unr several Qatari laws wh penalti rangg om at least a year to a prison. Mlims the untry n be subject to Sharia law that bans any sexual activy outsi marriage wh punishments rangg up to the ath penalty, meang homosexual acts n technilly rult executn, though several human rights reports have said there is no evince any gay people have been executed for the offence.

JOSH CAVALLO: ONLY OPENLY GAY TOP-FLIGHT MALE FOOTBALLER SAYS FIFA’S ‘ONELOVE’ ARMBAND BAN HAS MA HIM FEEL ‘EXCLUD’

”Along wh the appallg ndns for migrant workers buildg the astcture for the tournament, the prospect of gay fans or players beg arrted Qatar has dogged Fifa sce the emirate was announced as host of the tournament 2010. The anisatn’s then print, Sepp Blatter, fuelled the ntroversy the same year when he was asked if he had any advice for gay people who wanted to travel to the Gulf state for the petn. But they walk a fe le between acmodatg what are now mastream attus towards gay people much of the world and the untry’s own nservative relig the tournament has approached, Qatari officials have sought to reassure LGBT fans that they will be wele the untry and n exprs themselv – wh lims.

”Prsed at the time over how Qataris would react to a gay uple holdg hands, Khater said they would be treated the same as a heterosexual uple. 'FIFA have ma me feel exclud:' Sole gay top flight player hs out on Qatar armband ban. Josh Cavallo, the only openly gay top-flight male soccer player the sport, has told CNN that FIFA’s cisn to ban players om wearg “OneLove” armbands at the Qatar 2022 has ma him feel “exclud.

GARY LEKER HOP MALE GAY FOOTBALLER WILL E OUT DURG QATAR WORLD CUP

The Alai Uned midfielr and former Atralian youth ternatnal ma headl last year when he me out as gay. “It don’t matter if you’re lbian, if you’re gay, ’s for everyone. Homosexualy Qatar is illegal and punishable by up to three years prison.

But there have been mixed msag wh a World Cup ambassador and former footballer Khalid Salman sayg earlier this month that homosexualy was “damage the md, ” an terview wh German broadster ZDF.

GAY FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS HE WOULD BE ‘SRED’ TO PLAY AT THE 2022 WORLD CUP QATAR

He is a regular at England ternatnals and was once the victim of a homophobic asslt, he says, at Wembley four years ago, ahead of England’s match agast Spa 2018, when he had an altertn wh another fan. Gary Leker wants to see a Premier League player e out as gay durg the Qatar World Cup to send a strong msage to a host natn where homosexualy remas a former England striker Leker told the Daily Mirror he knows of two gay Premier League players, sayg they had been “very close” to g out before now. “If I were an agent of a big footballer, if I knew one of my players was gay, if he was a top player, I’d say: ‘Be the first big player.

'I'm a footballer and I'm gay:' Hear pro-player reveal he's gay.

After beg the only current, openly gay player men’s top-flight football last month, Josh Cavallo says a new terview wh the Guardian that he would be “sred” to play at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar bee of the untry’s homosexualy laws.

GAY FOOTBALLER JAKE DANIELS SLAMS ‘TRATG’ QATAR WORLD CUP AND LLS OUT LACK OF ‘RPECT’

Cavallo, who plays for Alai Uned Atralia’s A-League, received wispread support om the football muny and beyond when he announced on social media that he is gay, cludg om Barcelona fenr Gerard Piqué, Atléti Madrid forward Antoe Griezmann and Liverpool midfielr Jordan Henrson.

The 21-year-old has now voiced his ncerns about next year’s World Cup Qatar, where homosexualy is illegal and punishable by up to three years prison. “I read somethg along the l of giv a ath penalty for gay people Qatar. He add: “One of the greatt achievements as a profsnal footballer is to play for your untry and to know that [the World Cup] is a untry that don’t support gay people and puts at risk of our own life, that do sre me and that do me make re-evaluate.

GAY QATARIS PHYSILLY ABED THEN RECED AS AGENTS, MPAIGNER SAYS

Acrdg to a report to state-sponsored homophobia by Lus Ramón Mendos of the human rights group ILGA World, Qatar “ns Sharia urts, where technilly is possible that Mlim men uld be put to ath for same-sex sexual behavurs.

“Not havg anyone to look up to and to see okay, they’re playg football and they’re gay and they’re havg a succsful reer – that is somethg that sred me and somethg that I was worried that if I was to potentially e out one day, would affect my reer a bad way? Gay football pro Jake Daniels has said he’s not happy about the World Cup beg held anti-LGBTQ+ Qatar.