World Cup 2022: ‘Being a gay fan in Doha is so taboo we’re invisible’

Phil, 39, is a lifelong football fan who is in Qatar for his fourth consecutive World Cup. Qatar has said “everyone is welcome”, but as a gay man traveling to a country where same-sex relationships are criminalized, he tells us through his diary how challenging the experience was.

The airport was packed with fans from all over the world en route to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but tonight looks like just an average Tuesday here.

I’ve been an England fan for longer than I know what the word ‘gay’ means. My first footballing memories are watching the 1990 World Cup at my grandparents’ house and being able to stay up late at the England games.

I’m aware that I’m in the sizeable minority of gay England fans in my decision to go to Qatar – but if we’re serious about the game being for everyone, I won’t back down on Qatar’s despicable LGBT rights let this stop me from enjoying the game I love. I don’t think I have to choose between a gay man and an England fan.

I accept that I say this from an extremely privileged position. There is a level of protection that applies to me as a western foreigner that would not apply to LGBTQ Catarians. That’s where I’m most conflicted.

I’m just leaving the stadium after the first game, Japan 2-1 Germany. A great game.

But here everything is very strange. The atmosphere in the stadiums is sterile and nobody seems to really know what to do. Security pretty much rules things out – there’s a designated area where you can have your flags and banners inspected before you go inside.

On the tube tonight I saw a sign that said football is ‘a means of respecting human rights’, which is the obvious question – but Whose human rights?

There’s tons of security in the stadiums, more than I’ve seen in any other tournament. It’s odd because the atmosphere doesn’t seem menacing here. So what exactly are you looking for?

I was just talking to a gay fan from the Netherlands in a bar. Like me, he feels a bit contradictory about being here.

I also had one of my dating apps open today and got several messages from Saudi men. So Qataris may pretend that queer life in the Middle East is dead, but online it’s alive and well.

I just watched England vs USA. At half-time I met an England fan wearing a rainbow ribbon and asked him if he was having trouble getting into the stadium. Apparently he was appraised by three or four different people, but then he was told, “Oh, it’s alright now”. I’ve also seen a few fans in USA shirts with rainbow numbers on the back, so I’m guessing “green shoots” is the term.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve often thought about the slogan “Football is for everyone”. I think locals really believe it, they just don’t see gay fans as part of the equation. It’s not necessarily homophobic, it’s just such a taboo subject that we’re invisible.

That’s one of the reasons a lot of my LGBT fans couldn’t come here – they felt left out, for understandable reasons.

I’m leaving the stadium at the end of the Australia-Tunisia game.

Just after half-time, a group of Tunisian fans unfurled a giant flag that read ‘Free Palestine’. There’s nothing wrong with that – but when the officials talk about keeping politics out of the sport and then a flag of that size is allowed into the stadium by the flag police.

We watched the France vs Denmark game in downtown Doha with groups of Mexican, Argentinian and European fans and talked about how it compares to other World Cups. For me, from a purely football point of view, there is a lot to like about the way Qatar have carried this out and there have been some good games on the field.

But what I keep coming back to is the sheer hypocrisy of the “say no to discrimination” message. I’ve met a few people who said, “You’re perfectly safe here, why is it important that you’re gay?”.

I know I’m privileged to be relatively safe compared to LGBT Catarians, but unless you’ve actually walked in our shoes and felt that sense of unease, that sense of being left out, it’s very hard to describe.

I’m about to board my flight back to the UK so this is the last time I’m checking out in Qatar.

When Qatar won the World Cup in 2010 there was an outcry – but it was more about the corruption allegations than LGBT rights. Perhaps that is a measure of progress in Europe and Britain.

Have I ever felt concerned for my safety here? no Do I think I would have done it under different circumstances? Again no. But do I feel that knowing what is happening to the local LGBT population has marred my experience here? Yes I do.

We’re told to just focus on football, but there are things in life that are more important.

As Josh Parry and Ashitha Nagesh said. Phil shared his experience with us through voice memos on an encrypted messaging app. We do not publish his full name.