Human Rights Watch calls the statement made by a Qatar World Cup representative that homosexuality is "damage in the psyche" "Harmful and unacceptable."

 Human Rights Watch calls the statement made by a Qatar World Cup representative that homosexuality is "damage in the psyche" "Harmful and unacceptable."

Former Qatari international Khalid Salman advised LGBTQ+ spectators at the tournament to "respect our regulations" in an interview with German network ZDF.

Because it is viewed as immoral under Islamic Sharia law, homosexuality is prohibited in Qatar.

"[Homosexuality] is haram," declared Salman. Do you understand what haram [forbidden] is?

He said, "I'm not a strict Muslim, but why is it haram? " when asked why it was forbidden. Because it causes mental harm.

The interview, which was supposed to be for a documentary that would air on Tuesday, was abruptly cut off by a supporting official.

"Salman's statement that same-sex attraction is 'damage in the mind' is damaging and unacceptable," said Rasha Younes, senior researcher for LGBT rights at Human Rights Watch.

"The Qatari government's reluctance to refute this incorrect information has a substantial influence on the lives of LGBT inhabitants of Qatar, from fostering prejudice and violence against them to justifying the subjecting them to state-sponsored conversion therapies," says the report.