Katie McCabe won't watch World Cup in Qatar

Katie McCabe says she won't be watching the World Cup in Qatar and expressed the hope that male players would take a stand against the host nation's regime on gay rights over the coming month.

Harry Kane and Manuel Neuer are among eight international captains who have vowed to wear a rainbow armband in Qatar in support of the LGBTQ community.

The host nation, awarded the tournament in deeply controversial circumstances back in 2010, has been subject to criticism from human rights groups from issues ranging gay rights to the treatment of migrant workers.

Last week, FIFA issued a letter - signed by general secretary Gianni Infantino - to all 32 competing nations, pleading with to focus on football and avoid getting drawn into "political or ideological battles".

"At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without handing out moral lessons to the rest of the world," Infantino said in the letter.

While the international governing body are keen to discourage political criticism of the hosts, the world players union chief Jonas-Baer Hoffman warned FIFA in September that any move to ban or sanction players wearing rainbow armbands or laces would send a "devastating" message.

McCabe, one of a number of LGBT players in the Ireland team and a supporter of the rainbow laces campaign, admitted that she probably wouldn't watch the 2022 World Cup, though acknowledged that is partly down to her own workload and Ireland's absence.

"Obviously, what's going on over there isn’t great, not a good look for football but the decision has been made," McCabe told RTÉ Sport on Tuesday, hours after it was revealed a Qatari World Cup ambassador had made discriminatory comments in an interview.

"The World Cup will continue and hopefully there won’t