Some LGBTQ+ World Cup Fans Avoid Qatar Over Ban on Homosexuality
(CNN) — "I'm a man and I love men. I do -- please don't be shocked -- have sex with other men. This is normal. So please get used to it, or stay out of football."Dario Minden was a relatively unknown German football fan before a video of a powerful speech he made was widely shared on social media in September.For the majority of the 15-minute talk he spoke in his native German before switching to English, a change he deliberately made, he says, for impact.
He wanted the world to hear.Looking directly at Qatar's ambassador to Germany, Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani, in a room full of dignitaries and sponsors at a human rights conference in Frankfurt, hosted by the German Football Association, he said his impactful words.
Sitting in the front row, the camera pans briefly to al-Thani and shows him looking at and listening to Minden."Football is for everyone," Minden continued. "It doesn't matter if you're lesbian, if you're gay, it's for everyone.
For the boys, for the girls and for everyone in between ... The rule that football is for everyone is so important. We cannot allow you to break it no matter how rich you are.
