Fearing hostility, some LGBTQ fans boycotting Qatar World Cup Hard to visit country 'where we don't know how we could be safe,' Mexican fan says At first, Saskia Nino de Rivera was excited about going to Qatar for a World Cup that would mark a significant professional event for her partner, a sports agent for Mexico soccer players.At the same time, she argued, "suggestions that Qatar should make an exception for outsiders are implicit reminders that Qatari authorities do not believe that its LGBT residents deserve basic rights or exist," adding her organization was concerned about conditions for local LGBTQ people, including after the tournament.With the current intense public debates, "I feel like there is a moment of urgency to...put something out there now to actually let people know that we're not OK." Josie Nixon of the You Can Play Project, which advocates for LGBTQ people in sports, said the group was part of a coalition of LGBTQ rights organizations that made demands of FIFA and the Qatari organizers.These included repealing laws targeting LGBTQ people, providing "explicit safety guarantees" against harassment, arrest or detention, and working to ensure the long-term safety of LGBTQ people in the region.Attacks raise questions about motive "FIFA and Qatar have taken steps to make sure that LGBTQ fans are safe but is that enough to change the way Qatar views LGBTQ citizens?""