World Cup 2022: Why norms LGBTQ+ football fans took for granted have been shaken

People recovered ways to protestation against Qatar's laws connected homosexuality - with a carnivore sporting rainbow laces placed connected apical of a tv camera during 1 World Cup match

It was the summertime of 2021, and I was talking to a elder Fifa official.

There was a intermission earlier Joyce Cook - herself a cheery pistillate - answered.

"If you spell to places, you unfastened up and radiance a spotlight," she said.

"We're precise wide that for our hosts, our tournaments person to beryllium all-inclusive. In regards to LGBTQ+ rights, we person a clip to spell yet until we big the tourney - and I judge we volition permission a legacy."

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LGBTQ+ fans and allies stopped and confronted

It's inactive excessively aboriginal to justice what people this World Cup volition permission connected history.

But connected 1 count, determination tin beryllium nary doubt.

Despite the repeated pledges of some Fifa and the Qatari authorities to marque 'everyone welcome', those who were from - oregon supporting - the LGBTQ+ assemblage person not felt that way.

There was the erstwhile Wales skipper told to remove a chapeau successful Pride colours. And the LGBTQ+ state detained concisely by the authorities for trying to participate a stadium wearing a rainbow T-shirt.

A cheery instrumentality who took a greyscaled Pride emblem to a game was made to propulsion it successful the bin; different was forced to unfurl his Pride banners by guards who approached him connected the metro.

A BBC cameraman who wore a Pride ticker strap was initially barred from entering a stadium - and was lone capable to summation introduction aft a telephone telephone to the authorities.

LGBTQ+ fans who chose not to question to Qatar had to perceive arsenic Khalid Salman, 1 of the country's World Cup ambassadors, described homosexuality arsenic "damage successful the mind".

These were immoderate of galore stories of LGBTQ+ fans and allies being stopped oregon confronted.

Fifa and the Qatari authorities had fixed assurances that wouldn't beryllium the case. But it happened anyway.

Flying a emblem - but threatening captains with yellowish cards

It's important to accidental that what has happened successful Qatar is not the accustomed acquisition for galore LGBTQ+ shot fans, either successful the UK oregon a fig of different competing nations.

I've been covering the stories of LGBTQ+ radical successful athletics for the champion portion of 5 years, and 1 of the astir heartening changes I've seen is the mode shot has worked to marque the assemblage consciousness much welcome.

From the Premier League's information successful the Rainbow Laces campaign to the rise of LGBTQ+ instrumentality groups, the crippled has made immense strides successful a comparatively abbreviated period.

That advancement has been warmly received astatine each levels of shot - seen not lone arsenic a bully thing, but an indispensable portion of making the athletics much inclusive.

Yet astatine this World Cup, the norms that LGBTQ+ radical successful shot had travel to trust connected were enactment up for statement by immoderate of the astir almighty names successful the game.

Those OneLove armbands that European fans had got utilized to seeing astatine the Nations League?

They were not, according to Qatar's World Cup main Hassan Al-Thawadi, a awesome of diverseness and inclusion aft all, but alternatively "an effort to permission a divisive message" successful the Arab world.

The quality of shot to "change the world" that Gianni Infantino spoke astir successful May?

That didn't widen to players who wanted to gully attraction to alleged quality rights abuses successful Qatar - who were alternatively urged by Fifa successful aboriginal November to "focus connected football" and not get dragged into ideological oregon governmental "battles".

And that "symbolic and arrogant moment" Fifa highlighted as it flew the Pride flag extracurricular its office successful June?

All good and bully - yet captains could not deterioration a rainbow of their ain astatine the tourney without risking a booking.

A close to beryllium becoming 'political' again

And past determination was Infantino's property conference.

The time earlier the World Cup's opening match, the Fifa president accused critics of Qatar's quality rights record of "hypocrisy" and of delivering a "one-sided motivation lesson" - and claimed helium knew however radical facing favoritism felt due to the fact that he'd been bullied for his freckles arsenic a child.

Homosexuality is amerciable successful Qatar, and tin beryllium punishable by fines, imprisonment and adjacent death.

And Infantino's comments were portion of a wider pattern, successful which important shot figures framed the speech astir the attraction of LGBTQ+ radical successful the big federation arsenic 1 of taste and governmental differences, alternatively than basal quality rights.

No substance that cheery Qataris had spoken retired astir their tendency to unrecorded escaped from harassment, specified arsenic Aziz, who told BBC News successful November: "I would similar reforms that would accidental I tin beryllium cheery and not interest astir being killed."

No substance the country's LGBTQ+ supporters organisation, the Proud Maroons, couldn't openly ticker their nationalist squad because, in the group's ain words, fans feared that "joining would nonstop them to jail".

The speech had changed. LGBTQ+ shot fans assuming it was uncontroversial to accidental that no-one should beryllium persecuted for their sexuality present stood accused of disrespecting the big nation's traditions.

"At Fifa, we effort to respect each opinions and beliefs, without handing retired motivation lessons to the remainder of the world," wrote football's satellite governing assemblage successful aboriginal November. "No 1 radical oregon civilization oregon federation is 'better' than immoderate other."

Yet elder Fifa authoritative Arsene Wenger, the erstwhile Arsenal manager, suggested that teams who tried to gully attraction to LGBTQ+ issues successful Qatar had performed worse arsenic a result.

The connection itself was debatable - with Australia's footballers defying expectations to scope the knockout stages, aft releasing a video condemning quality rights abuses successful the country.

But that wasn't the point.

At this World Cup, each the norms that LGBTQ+ fans had travel to cognize were being challenged.

To beryllium authentic successful shot - to enactment the close of radical to spell to games with who they loved, wearing what they wanted, embracing each portion of themselves - was nary longer a fixed arsenic a "good thing".

It had someway go 1 broadside of a debate, to beryllium balanced against the views of those who would alternatively the LGBTQ+ assemblage did not person that right.

Remarkably, successful 2022 and connected a planetary stage, the rights of LGBTQ+ radical to beryllium arsenic themselves successful shot had go 'political' again.

So what now?

The curtain has fallen connected Qatar, and the rhythms of shot arsenic we cognize it are opening to stir.

The Premier League resumes adjacent Monday, and fans of England's apical men's teams volition soon beryllium backmost successful the stands, bodies hunched against the acold weather, enactment hanging successful the air.

Pitches volition freeze. Points volition beryllium dropped.

It volition each consciousness precise 'normal'.

But for galore LGBTQ+ radical successful football, there's nary casual instrumentality to the mode things were before.

After a play wherever truthful galore assumptions astir their spot successful the crippled were challenged, excessively galore questions remain.

Can players deterioration the Pride colours astatine adjacent year's Women's World Cup successful New Zealand?

Will countries that criminalise homosexuality beryllium allowed to big aboriginal tournaments?

And aft immoderate of the comments by football's starring power-brokers, however are cheery radical successful the crippled truly seen by those successful control?

No assemblage is simply a monolith - but the overwhelming bulk of LGBTQ+ radical I've spoken to during this tourney person told maine the aforesaid thing.

They consciousness angry.

They consciousness fto down.

They consciousness thing but "welcome".

And that, arsenic overmuch arsenic anything, volition beryllium this World Cup's legacy.

Jack Murley is the presenter of the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast. You tin perceive caller episodes each Wednesday connected BBC Sounds.