Southgate’s regret over Qatar rights

GARETH SOUTHGATE says it is “a great shame” some England fans will not feel comfortable enough to travel to Qatar for the World Cup.

And the Three Lions boss urged organisers to prove everyone will be welcome in a country with an appalling human-rights record.

Southgate (below) will address his players this week in a bid to educate them about some of the issues.

And he 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. 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 players is highlight that we think those are going to be the key areas.

“We’ve got to prepare the players the best we can to make the best possible decisions that they can.”