Qatar: “It wasn´t the best idea” says Arsenal & England Women’s Beth Mead By Michelle
Arsenal and England forward Beth Mead has said it is “disappointing” the men’s World Cup is being held in Qatar. Mead, who is openly gay, does not think the Gulf state is the “right place” for the tournament to be staged.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar with punishments including fines, prison sentences of up to seven years – and even death.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, 27-year-old Mead said that was “the complete opposite to what I believe and respect”.
Qatar follows strict Muslim laws, and has been criticised about its stance on same-sex relationships and human rights issues. Peaceful protests have been planned by some players at the World Cup, which begins on 20th November. 10 captains of European teams will wear ‘One Love’ armbands, including England’s Harry Kane.
Qatar’s World Cup organisers state “everyone is welcome” to visit the country to watch the football, and that no-one will be discriminated against. Chief executive Nasser al Khater said the government would not change its laws on homosexuality and asked visitors to “respect our culture”.
Listen to full BBC Woman’s Hour show including the full interview with Beth Mead here..
Mead, who won Player of the Tournament and the Golden Boot when England won the European Championship in the summer, said: Although I’m cheering for the boys who are going to play football there, from the minute it was announced I thought it wasn’t the best idea.
Mead is in a relationship with fellow Arsenal team-mate Vivianne Miedema. She said they had never felt it necessary to release a statement or even publicly come out because it is just normal life for them.
We’ve made it the norm from day one, she said. We haven’t felt the need to come out and give a statement of who we’re with and what we’re doing, we’ve just classed it as normal life.
If I want to put a picture of me and Viv on my Instagram, I do but I don’t caption it: ‘This is my girlfriend, this is what we’re doing.
In the men’s game they feel they have to make a statement of the situation. It’s been a culture, and that culture needs to shift.
We’re in the 21st century and you fall in love with who you fall in love with. It doesn’t matter who they are. That’s the perception we need to get across, Mead added.
Is it a generation thing? Is it a culture thing in the game? I would love to help try and bridge that gap to just try and make it the norm.
Arsenal are big supporters of LGBTQ+ inclusion, as are many football clubs. They came together as a club on 31st October to mark Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, striving together to kick homophobia, biphobia and transphobia out of the game.
So what are your thoughts on Qatar and the World Cup being held there from 20th November? There is certainly a lot of media attention focussed on the issue.
Are any of our gooners going to support England in the tournament?
Michelle Maxwell
Follow Michelle on Just Gooner Women on Twitter for regular updates on the Arsenal Women’s Team!
Do you want to read more about the Arsenal Women? Click here….