10 Things Sepp Blatter Wants You To Forget

Another issue with the world cup in Qatar is their uncomfortable views on homosexuality. At present, engaging in any sort of homosexual activity in Qatar carries a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. When questioned on the subject, Blatter’s response was to flippantly remark that they [gay fans] should “refrain from any sexual activities”.

Even if he was only joking, following this up with a typical politician’s response, the damage had already been done. Gay Rights Activists, already miffed about the choice of location, saw fit to jump on Blatter’s ill-advised quip as further evidence of how out of touch both he and FIFA are. Retired basketballer John Amaechi, now an outspoken advocate of gay rights, was also unimpressed, saying:

"It's not about people having sex in public and being sanctioned for it, it's the fact that Qatar was one of 79 countries to sanction executing gays at the United Nations. One of the first things you notice is that it would actually be an insult to year seven students to say that their reactions, the giggling of grown men, sports reporters and members of Fifa, on this issue, when asked a perfectly simple and reasonable question given the worries about Qatar, that the whole room burst into laughter. It is the most childish response I could imagine”.