World Cup ambassador from Qatar denounces homosexuality

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — An ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar has described homosexuality as a “damage in the mind” in an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF only two weeks before the opening of the soccer tournament in the Gulf state. The comment highlights concerns about the conservative country’s treatment of gays and lesbians. Former Qatari national team player Khalid Salman told a German reporter in an interview that being gay is “haram.” That means forbidden in Arabic. He also says he has a problem with children seeing gay people. Excerpts of the television interview were shown Monday on the ZDF news program Heute Journal. The full interview will be shown Tuesday on ZDF.