Wales fans donning rainbow bucket hats had them confiscated before their nation's clash against USA in what was their first World Cup fixture for 64 years.
Wales’ Rainbow Wall - a group of LGBTQ+ supporters, took to twitter to confirm the news that the supporters had their hats taken from them as they tried to enter the stadium. The post, uploaded this evening, read: "Our rainbow bucket hat.
"We are so proud of them, but news on the ground tonight is our welsh female supporters wearing them in Qatar are having them taken off them, Not the men, just Women. @Fifacom are you serious !! #LGBTQRights."
The group then issued an update, clarifying the situation as they added: "We have an update that in the end the Rainbow Hats had been taken from the men also but it didn’t start out that way. A reminder to our Red Wall out in Qatar please stay safe. We can not trust @FIFAcom at all and nothing they have said has been true."
Former Wales captain and Professor at Cardiff University Laura McAllister was another supporter that also had her rainbow bucket hat confiscated upon entry.
According to PA News, one USA supporter was threatened by a man, appearing as a Qatar fan, while travelling to the game on the Metro while holding a small rainbow flag. The Qatar fan was heard claiming that the flag was "not allowed" before declaring that “we have our own culture."
Thankfully, some supporters nearby intervened to ease tension and protect the USA supporter.
The situation comes just hours after the Welsh Football association backtracked on their original stance on wearing a 'One Love' captain's armband for the game against the USA.
Skipper Gareth Bale was expected to don the armband, but Wales U-turned after FIFA reportedly informed all nations interested in taking part in the gesture would see their captain yellow-carded for wearing one.
In response, the seven nations who had organised the gesture released a joint statement confirming the game's governing body had requested the original armbands no longer be worn.
"FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play," the statement began.
"As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions, including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games."
