American Journalist Grant Wahl "Detained" Before USA Game For Wearing Rainbow Shirt
An American journalist has claimed that he was "detained" for 25 minutes and initially refused entry to the USA's game against Wales because of his rainbow tee-shirt.
Former Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl opted to wear a tee-shirt featuring a soccer ball surrounded by a rainbow to show support for the LGBTQ community.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, where the World Cup is controversially being held, but FIFA had claimed that gay fans would be welcome at the tournament.
Wahl was seemingly not given a warm welcome when security staff at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium spotted his tee-shirt though.
In a tweet to his 840,000 followers, Wahl claimed that he was told: "You have to change your shirt. It's not allowed."
He later claimed in a blog on his substack channel that his phone was confiscated moments after sending the tweet and not returned for around 25 minutes.
During these 25 minutes, Wahl said he was shouted at and ordered to remove his shirt due to it being "political".
Wahl refused and was eventually allowed to enter the stadium, rainbow shirt and all.
One security guard is said to have told Wahl that the intervention had been an attempt to "protect" him from fans inside the stadium who might "harm" him for wearing the shirt.
A FIFA representative apparently apologized to Wahl but the ordeal left him even more concerned.
He finished his blog post by writing: "The entire episode left me wondering: What's it like for ordinary Qataris who might wear a rainbow shirt when the world isn't watching here? What's that like?"
A general view from outside Ahmad bin Ali Stadium during the USA's game against Wales at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
IMAGO/Focus Images/Paul Chesterton
