Fan fears over Qatar 'horrible', says England manager Southgate

England manager Gareth Southgate has said he is unhappy some fans will not feel able to travel to Qatar for November's World Cup due to concerns over human rights issues in the country.

Homosexuality is illegal in the Gulf state and there is also unease over women's rights, while Qatar has been criticised since being awarded the tournament hosting rights over the poor treatment of foreign construction workers.

“There are the issues that potentially threaten our fans when they travel — the rights of women and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in particular,” said Southgate.

“Sadly, through discussions that I've had, I don't think some of those communities are going to go and that's a great shame.

“We stand for inclusivity as a team — that's been the big driver of a lot of the stances we've taken in the last couple of years.

“It would be horrible to think some of our fans feel they can't go because they feel threatened or they're worried about their safety.”

During qualifying for the tournament, which kicks off on November 21, players from Norway, Netherlands and Germany staged protests to highlight concerns over human rights issues in Qatar. Southgate believes his England players will also look to make their stance known on the matters, but they are yet to determine how best to do so.

“We feel the World Cup is an opportunity to highlight some of these issues and we have a platform to be able to do that,” he said. “We've also got to do that in a responsible way.

“I'm not sure that just wearing a T-shirt makes a difference. I don't totally know what we can do in every aspect to make a difference. We have to be realistic about what that might be.”