Homosexuality Is Damage In The Mind, Says FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Ambassador

New Delhi: As the Gulf state prepares to host the global tournament in less than two weeks and expects more than one million visitors for the FIFA World Cup,  a Qatar World Cup ambassador told German television broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was “damage in the mind.”

In an interview filmed in Doha and to be screened later on Tuesday, former Qatari international Khalid Salman addressed the issue of homosexuality, which is illegal in the Muslim country. Some soccer players have raised concerns over the rights of fans travelling to the event, especially LGBT+ individuals and women, whom rights groups say Qatari laws discriminate against, India Today reported quoting Reuters.

“They have to accept our rules here,” Salman said, in an excerpt of the interview. “(Homosexuality) is haram. You know what haram (forbidden) means?” he was quoted as saying.

Asked why it was haram, Salman said: “I am not a strict Muslim but why is it haram? Because it is damage in the mind.”

An accompanying official then immediately stopped the interview. When contacted by Reuters, Qatar’s World Cup organisers declined to comment. World soccer’s ruling body FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for a comment, the report added.

Organisers have repeatedly said everyone was welcome in Qatar during the World Cup.