Soccer Star Calls for Boycott of Premier League LGBT Effort (1)

Qatar-based broadcaster BeIN Media Group found itself embroiled in controversy after one of its best-known commentators criticized the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign in support of the LGBT community, potentially lighting a tinderbox in the run-up to next year’s World Cup.

With human rights groups already critical of staging the World Cup in Qatar, Mohamed Aboutrika, a retired Egyptian soccer star who appears regularly on BeIN, described homosexuality as an affront to the Muslim religion.

His remarks came in response to the station’s airing of games last week featuring players wearing rainbow-colored laces in support of the gay community. BeIN ...