BBC Presenter Defies FIFA by Wearing ‘One Love’ Armband at Qatar World Cup
‘CONTEMPT’
BBC reporter Alex Scott ripped a page out of the rule book on Monday, donning a “One Love” armband during live coverage of England’s World Cup match against Iran. The glaring visual statement was made by the bisexual World Cup presenter on Monday, hours after England’s captains Harry Kane and Gareth Southgate backed out of wearing the armbands after FIFA warned them of sanctions or even yellow cards for drawing attention to human rights violations in FIFA 2022’s host country, Qatar. “To paraphrase Fifa president Gianni Infantino, today LGBT+ football supporters and their allies will feel angry,” wrote England's Football Supporters’ Association in a statement. “Today we feel betrayed. Today we feel contempt for an organization that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance.” Qatar, which outlaws same-sex marriage, has also been accused of torturing and systematically abusing its LGBTQ population.