One Qatari official overseeing the upcoming World Cup games announced that his country would receive couples from the LGBT community, despite laws criminalizing homosexuality in Qatar, but would not allow them to express support for LGBT rights and solidarity with persecuted LGBT people in the Gulf countries.
Speaking with ASOCI, Brigadier General Abdelaziz Abdullah Al-Ansari announced that the authorities "may confiscate" rainbow flags from playgrounds. He added: "I do not confiscate the flag from the person to offend him, but to protect him. If I don't attack him, a member of the public may attack him, and I can't catch the whole audience. Watch the game, that's acceptable. But don't offend an entire community. "