Blatter: no sex for gay fans at Qatar World Cup

Fifa's decision to award the 2022 World Cup to the tiny Arab state of Qatar is already causing controversy after Sepp Blatter appeared to laugh off concerns over the host nation's attitude towards homosexuality.

There was widespread surprise when it was announced earlier this month that the tournament would be held in the Middle East for the first time in 2022. Not only will players and fans have to contend with Qatar's searing summer temperatures, they will also have to deal with its Islamic laws, under which drinking alcohol in public is forbidden and homosexuality is illegal.

However, Blatter appeared unconcerned and simply joked that gay fans "should refrain from any sexual activities", when asked about the problem during an event in South Africa.

He went on to say: "We are definitely living in a world of freedom and I'm sure when the World Cup will be in Qatar in 2022, there will be no problems. You see in the Middle East the opening of this culture, it's another culture because it's another religion, but in football we have no boundaries.

"We open everything to everybody and I think there shall not be any discrimination against any human beings, be it on this side or that side, be it left, right or whatever."

But Blatter's flippant response to the question has not gone down well with gay rights campaigners. The British former NBA star John Amaechi, who came out in 2007, said in a statement on his website: "With little more than an afterthought Fifa has endorsed the marginalisation of LGBT people around the world."

He said Fifa's attitude towards gay fans "should have been wholly unacceptable a decade ago".

Football's governing body has also faced criticism over its decision to award the preceding tournament, in 2018, to Russia. And a wave of right-wing violence led by football hooligans that has left two dead and dozens injured in the last week has led many to question the wisdom of letting that country host the event. ·