A US journalist said on Monday that he was briefly detained while attempting to enter a World Cup stadium in Qatar while wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the LGBTQ community in a country where same-sex relationships are illegal. According to Grant Wahl, a former Sports Illustrated journalist who now runs his own website, World Cup security refused him entry to the United States opening match against Wales at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan and asked him to remove his shirt. He claimed that when he tweeted about the incident, his phone was taken away. “I’m fine, but that was an unnecessary ordeal,” Wahl tweeted. He claimed that a security officer later approached him, apologized, and let him into the venue. According to him, he later received an apology from a representative of FIFA, soccer’s international governing body. FIFA has been contacted for comment by Reuters. After FIFA threatened to issue yellow cards to any player wearing the multi-colored armband, which was introduced to support diversity and inclusion, seven European World Cup countries dropped plans for their respective captains to wear OneLove armbands earlier on Monday. I’m OK, but that was an unnecessary ordeal. Am in the media center, still wearing my shirt. Was detained for nearly half an hour. Go gays 🌈 https://t.co/S3INBoCz89 — Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) November 21, 2022