QATARI authorities allegedly prevented two BBC journalists from entering the stadium ahead of England’s World Cup clash with the USA over a rainbow-coloured watch strap.
Natalie Pirks, a BBC Sports Correspondent, claimed on Twitter she was held up outside the Al Bayt Stadium after security spotted her cameraman was wearing an Apple Watch with a rainbow-coloured strap.
The reporter shared a picture of her cameraman’s watch, which also had a rainbow-coloured wallpaper on the screen, on her Twitter.
“Just arrived at the Al Bayt stadium for England’s game and my cameraman, wearing the rainbow-coloured watch strap his son got him, was stopped by security and refused entry,” she wrote.
“Clearly the message from FIFA is STILL not getting through.”
LGBTQ+ rights have been under the spotlight in Qatar since the start of the tournament, where homosexuality is illegal.
Same-sex relationships in the country are punishable by imprisonment or even death.
Some supporters and members of the media have had items of clothing with rainbow flags confiscated, and ex-Wales women’s captain Laura McAllister was filmed being told to remove her rainbow-coloured bucket hat.
McAllister, who is gay and a past FIFA Council candidate, said she was told by security she couldn’t wear the hat for Wales’ World Cup opener against the USA.
She said she then smuggled the hat into the stadium.
In another farcical scene, the team captains of seven UEFA federations including England performed a U-turn on wearing the One Love armband after FIFA said they risked being booked.
The issue has become so tense that Qatar have since been forced into issuing an assurance to FIFA that the rainbow flag will “not be prohibited” at stadiums in the World Cup.
Natalie later confirmed that they had been allowed in after calling a hotline set up for journalists and TV crews having issues getting into stadiums.
“We are now in,” she wrote. “To their credit the Qataris have set up a hotline for crews experiencing problems, this managed to help us eventually get past security.”
Other bizarre scenes have taken place at this World Cup, with reports of Wales fans wearing striped bucket hats in the red, yellow, white, and green colours of the country also being told to take them off after they were mistaken for rainbow colours.
And Qatari officials seized a Brazilian fan’s flag after wrongly believing it to be the LGBTQ rainbow.
In shock scenes captured on video, security were seen confiscating the flag of Pernambuco State, because it resembles a rainbow in the colours red, yellow, and green.
A number of football federations have raised similar issues with FIFA, after being promised before the tournament that it would be an open World Cup.
The global governing body has now sent a note to federations that the tournament’s organising committee has assured that rainbow items will no longer be confiscated.
And UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly insisted that Qatar have taken “real steps” to ensure the safety of gay fans attending the World Cup.
Reports claim that security at stadiums have been given instructions to prevent further so-called “localised incidents”.
However, Natalie’s experience suggests that the message hasn’t been received at all the stadiums.
England kicked off against the USA at 7pm in a hotly-anticipated Group B match.
Victory tonight would confirm qualification to the last 16, after Wales were beaten 2-0 in a shock defeat by Iran.
