Pubs across England are refusing to show the World Cup 2022 on television in protest at Qatar’s record on LGBTQ and other human rights.
Managers have said they are boycotting the tournament due to the decision to host the tournament in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal and can be punishable by death.
The World Cup falls over part of the Christmas period, traditionally the pub trade’s busiest of the year, while venues have generally been packed out during England matches in previous tournaments.
During the final of the Euro 2020 tournament, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) estimated that nearly 13 million pints would be sold. That total would be nearer 17 million but for Covid-19 restrictions, which meant venues were only allowed to accept 50-60 per cent of normal capacity.
But the prospect of losing income has not stopped managers taking a stand against the decision to host the tournament in Qatar and banning the football from their venues’ screens.
It comes after England fans from the LGBTQ community told i they would not travel to Qatar due to fears for their safety.
Landlady Nicola Moxham, 43, who runs the Mustard Pot pub in Leeds, West Yorkshire, said she had decided to U-turn on showing World Cup matches after customers raised objections, with refunds given to dozens of people who had bought tickets.
She told i: “When we put it on social media maybe a week or two ago immediately we started getting feedback from our regular customers saying, ‘That’s quite upsetting, that makes me feel uncomfortable’.
“It was nothing kind of attacking us, more along the lines of, ‘That’s really disappointing you’ve chosen to do that, it makes me feel unwelcome’. It was like we were letting people down.
“People raised all the obvious reasons – human rights abuses, homophobia.”
Since announcing on Monday that they were cancelling World Cup bookings and would no longer be showing the matches in the pub, she said she had received lots of supportive messages.
“People are actually really happy that we’re not and are deciding to come here and book dinner instead of watching it,” she said.
The World Cup comes at a difficult time for the pub industry, as the cost of living crisis coincides with miserable winter weather.
Two-thirds of 300 pub goers surveyed by KAM and Heineken said they would watch their spending more carefully during the World Cup this winter because of cost of living concerns, the Financial Times reported last week.
It also quoted pub chains that expected drinks-led pubs to do well, while food-led gastropubs would suffer with people who would normally head out for a meal choosing to stay at home to avoid football fans.
Other industry analysts have pointed out that a clash with Christmas party season could be a hindrance – not a help – for establishments showing the matches. It means competition for space inside pubs is at a high, with colder weather meaning pub gardens are unusable as viewing spots – unlike during summer World Cups.
Qatar World Cup organisers have said they are committed to an “inclusive and discrimination-free” World Cup, but other venues have taken a similar position to the Mustard Pot.
Several pubs in Chester are among those who have also decided not to show the games, with a message on The Liverpool Arms pub Facebook page saying: “After prolonged soul searching, The Liverpool Arms has decided it will not show any matches from The FIFA World Cup 2022 hosted by Qatar.
“As Chester’s LGBTQ+ bar, we are deeply concerned about the host nation’s lack of LGBTQ+ rights which are well documented.
“We will not promote this event. However, we wish England and Wales every success in the tournament.”
Two other pubs in the city, the Victoria and the Commercial Hotel and Bar, said they are “boycotting the World Cup because of Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws etc”, adding “we will never support any country nor links with such prejudice and ideas”.
Leeds venue, The Key Club, posted that it was cancelling its decision to show the England matches, which they had planned to broadcast live to punters.
In a statement, they said: “We wanted to create a safe space where people felt comfortable watching the football.
“However, after careful deliberation and upon further research, we now understand it is best to cancel the upcoming events in response to the ongoing LGBTQ+ issues surrounding the host nation.”
The pub said they would collect donations for LGBTQ+ charities at upcoming events.
The Victoria Inn in Colchester, Essex is another pub that has said it won’t show the football over the next few weeks. In a message on social media, the pub said: “We don’t show sports here and that won’t be changing.
“Even if we did, we wouldn’t be showing the World Cup due to where it is being held and the way they treat other human beings.”
John Sizzle, 54, co-owner of East London bar, The Glory, said his pub had shown matches during the women’s Euros 2022, but had no plans to broadcast the Qatar tournament.
“We don’t normally show football,” he told i. “We showed loads of women’s football, which was amazing. Our community was excited by that.
“Queer people, gay men and women don’t tend to feel that fussed about UK football. The World Cup gets a bit more exciting.
“But as you know, there are issues regarding the politics of the hosting country and our audience, and our community, is just very politically led when it comes to dealing with human rights issues.”
He said it wasn’t definitely that the pub would not show the matches, but the decision could depend on “conversations around queer rights and human rights”.
“My personal thoughts are if you find that UK football and/or footballers or the team representatives start talking positively about queer rights, then maybe interest will be raised around it,” he said.
“Otherwise, it’s another example of homophobia that exists within the sport that we have known about forever.”
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