American journalist detained at World Cup

An American football reporter was detained in Qatar after security objected to the T-shirt he attempted to wear into the US-Wales match.

The Qatari crackdown on support for the LGBTQ community has extended to credentialed media.

Journalist Grant Wahl, who runs a Substack covering soccer and formerly wrote for Sports Illustrated, tweeted that he was not let into the stadium for Monday’s US-Wales 2022 World Cup match because of his shirt, which had a soccer ball surrounded by a rainbow.

Wahl tweeted that he was told: “You have to change your shirt. It’s not allowed.”

Grant Wahl at the World Cup. Picture: Twitter

Later in the day, Wahl tweeted an update, saying he was “OK, but that was an unnecessary ordeal.

“Am in the media centre, still wearing my shirt. Was detained for nearly half an hour. Go gays,” Wahl wrote.

The New York Post reports the implication as to why he was detained is not subtle.

Earlier on Monday, FIFA threatened European team captains with automatic yellow cards for wearing a “OneLove” armband, as they had planned to do, leading England’s Harry Kane to back down and wear a FIFA-sanctioned armband instead.

BBC presenter Alex Scott, who has been in relationships with men and women in the past, donned the armband on the British outlet’s coverage of England’s 6-2 win over Iran.

A video of a Welsh fan also appearing to be denied entry into a stadium in Qatar while wearing a rainbow-coloured hat has also been spreading across the internet.

This Wales fan was not allowed into their game against USA because they were wearing a rainbow bucket hat 😳 #FIFAWorldCuppic.twitter.com/KySl4ZsQjN

— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) November 21, 2022

— This story originally appeared on nypost.com and has been republished with permission