Gareth Southgate admits "horrible" situation facing LGBTQ+ England fans at World Cup

Gareth Southgate says it’s "‘horrible" and "a great shame" that some sections of England’s fanbase won’t feel comfortable enough to travel to Qatar for the World Cup in November.

And the Three Lions boss has urged organisers to go further — much further — to prove that everyone will be welcome in a country that has an appalling human rights record. Southgate will address his players this week in a bid to educate them about some of those issues.

He will shine a light on those being faced by women and the LGBTQ+ community in particular — issues which, for now at least, look set to keep so many Three Lions supporters away.

Southgate said: “I’m quite clear on the areas of concern about this tournament. The building of the stadiums was the first and there’s nothing we can do about that now. They’re built. There are obviously ongoing concerns about the rights of workers and the conditions they live in and those areas.

“It seems universally accepted that’s better than it was but not in the position where people think it could be. And maybe policies that have been put in place are not always enforced as they might be. Then 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.

“Sadly, through discussions 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 and 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.

“There needs to be some clarity and some better communication that they are going to be safe, because they’re not feeling that. So what we’re going to try to do with the