FIFA, Qatar allow rainbow hats and flags at World Cup after 'urgent' talk from Football Association of Wales

FIFA World Cup rainbow (Image source: Twitter)

The ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 has been marred with many controversies ever since the hosting rights to the mega event were assigned to Qatar.

One incident that has begun another controversy is Qatar’s disallowance of the rainbow symbol inside the stadium. On the very second day of the mega event, a journalist from the USA was stopped from entering a World Cup stadium in Qatar. Grant Wahl was wearing a rainbow T-shirt which is a symbol of LGBTQ rights in the west and is illegal in Qatar.

In Qatar, homosexuality is illegal and intercourse with the same sex is criminalised with seven years of prison sentence and more. Recently a Qatar World Cup ambassador told a German TV that homosexuality was ‘damage to the mind’.

Now, FIFA has confirmed that fans will be allowed to wear rainbow bucket hats and take rainbow flags into the stadium for Wales’s next match against Iran. The Football Association of Wales notified that they had contacted and instructed the venues in Qatar to abide by agreed rules and regulations.

In a statement, it said, “The FAW urges FIFA to adhere to their message that everybody will be welcome in Qatar during the World Cup and continue to highlight any further human rights issues.

"We remain with the belief that football is for everyone," added the statement.

Wales played their first match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on November 22^nd at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium. The Group B match was a draw with both USA and Wales coming up with one goal each. As a result, both have one point. Wales will play their next match against Iran at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on November 25^th at 3:30 PM IST.