Bayern criticise statement from Qatar WC envoy on gays

The Bayern Munich trio of Germany captain Manuel Neuer, midfielder Leon Goretzka and board member for sport Hasan Salihamidzic has voiced sharp criticism on a statement from a Qatar World Cup ambassador on homosexuals.

Former Qatar international Khalid Salman, one of several ambassadors of the tournament starting next week, had in a documentary by public German broadcasters ZDF named being gay "damage in the mind."

Goretzka spoke of a "very oppressive" statement and "an image of humanity from another millenium" after Bayern's 6-1 Bundesliga win over Werder Bremen on Tuesday night.

"That is not what we want to stand for and what we exemplify. It is absolutely unacceptable to make such a statement," he added.

Neuer struck a similar note on Wednesday, saying it was "unacceptable and very sad to hear this. That does not fit at all into the world view we have."

Goalkeeper Neuer and several other European team captains plan to wear a multi-coloured One Love armband at the tournament to support diversity.

There was some criticism because the armband does not have the rainbow colours used by the LGBTIQ* community but those in support have said the colours go beyond sexual diversity.

"We hope that together with the other nations we can place a lot of power with the One Love armband," Neuer said.

Salihamidzic had late Tuesday also agreed that Salman's statement "is simply unacceptable" but he did not want to be drawn into a debate whether statements like this would also affect Bayern's sponsorship by Qatar's national carrier Qatar Airways.

"It is a statement from an individual. It is clear that we have to talk about it. But first of all it is an individual, and it is unacceptable," Salihamidzic said.

Qatar Airways' sponsorship deal runs until the summer of 2023 and club leaders have said they would make an assessment on a possible extension after the World Cup.

Many Bayern fans are critical of the deal because of Qatar's human rights record and there were also banners with criticism on Salman's statement at Tuesday's game.

Homosexuality is a criminal offence in Qatar but World Cup organizers have said that everyone is welcome at the November 20-December 18 tournament.

The condemnation of Salman's statement was not limited to Bayern as VfB Stuttgart chairman Alexander Wehrle called on the ethics commission of the world governing football body FIFA to look into the matter.

"This has nothing to do with our world view. To equate a sexual orientation with a mental illness, that is far removed from any notion we have here in our cultural area. We simply must speak plain language here," Wehrle told Sky TV.

Germany's largest LGBTIQ+ group LSVD had on Tuesday called on its government to boycott the World Cup in Qatar and wants the foreign ministry to issue a travel warning for its community after Salman's statement.

LSVD board member Alfonso Pantisano had named Salman's statements "disturbing and yet no surprise" in a statement. "They continue to reveal the basic homophobic attitude of the regime in Qatar."

The foreign ministry said on Wednesday it had no plans at the moment to issue a travel warning for the LGBTIQ+ community because of assurances from Qatar but at the same time also criticised Salman.

"From our point of view, this is an incredibly homophobic outburst," Sasse told reporters. "It also contradicts what our contacts in the Qatari government have promised us."