The chief of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar announced Thursday there will be special sobering-up zones for drunk football supporters, and he also said gay guests are allowed to hold hands, Sky News reported.
Alcohol sales will move from just hotel bars to fan zones and locations outside of the stadium, Qatar World Cup chief Nasser Al Khater told Sky News. The World Cup in Qatar will run from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18 2022. Public drinking is restricted in the predominantly Muslim nation, so the move to create sobering-up zones is part of an alternative to arrests or jail time for drunk and disorderly attendees, ESPN reported.
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Anyone who ends up in one of the “sobering tents” will have to stay there until they’re considered clear-headed enough to be released with a warning, The Times reported.
Qatar is refusing to change its anti-LGBTQ laws for the tournament, but has insisted no fans will be discriminated against while they’re attending the tournament, Al Khater told Sky News. Fans are allowed to hold hands and display rainbow flags, the outlet noted. (RELATED: REPORT: Qatar Bans Single World Cup Fans From Having Sex)
“All we ask is for people to be respectful of the culture,” Al Khater said, according to Sky News. “At the end of the day, as long as you don’t do anything that harms other people, if you’re not destroying public property, as long as you’re behaving in a way that’s not harmful, then everybody’s welcome and you have nothing to worry about.”