Sports is a great equalizer, as the saying goes. But this saying would be put to test as FIFA as soccer fans, and especially the countries who have placed their bids for the rights to host the World Cup await on how the world soccer organization would resolve current and future issues come the time Russia and Qatar host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup events.
The National Journal reported that the countries are known for their stance on homosexuality, and its equally horrible, albeit legal treatment to those who were found to be gay in the countries. The two have laws in place that clearly discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals, which, like a domino effect, feeds a culture of violence against homosexuals. The news outlet said that the awarding of hosting rights by FIFA, who has proclaimed itself to be benevolent, to the two countries when there are several, gender-friendly countries with more economically-good standing had also bid for the hosting rights. More so for the fact that FIFA's bylaws actually ban discrimination in soccer on the basis of several categories, which also include sexual orientation.
FIFA's bylaws would clearly clash with Russian and Qatari legislation. Last summer, President Vladimir Putin had signed a bill into law that bans any sort of public advocacy for homosexual rights. According to Russia's "anti-propaganda" law, the legislation serves as a guard to those advocacy groups that allegedly recruit children into homosexuality, falling short of establishing the link between homosexuality and pedophilia. In the Gulf state, Qatar has criminalize homosexuality, allowing the law to impose a convicted homosexual a jail sentence of up to seven years. Individuals who wish to opt out of jail, including foreigners, can choose flogging as an alternative punishment, The National Journal said.
On the other hand, the online news blog suggests a feasible remedy that would allow FIFA to live up to its bylaws. It said, "The organization could leverage World Cup hosting privileges with conditions for LGBT tolerance-both before the selection process and after being chosen. At a bare minimum, that would mean requiring countries to make a credible guarantee of the safety of LGBT visitors in order to be able to host the tournament. And if FIFA really wanted to live up to its self-written standards, it could go well beyond that: leveraging hosting privileges to push for substantive, permanent changes in the way both countries treat homosexual citizens and visitors."
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