Qatar World Cup: US journalist asked to take off rainbow shirt at venue

Doha: A US journalist said he faced "an unnecessary ordeal" for wearing rainbow shirt at Qatar World Cup stadium after security denied him entry alongside 'briefly' detaining him on Monday.

Grant Wahl, a former Sports Illustrated journalist, was wearing the shirt in support of the LGBTQ community in Qatar where same-sex relations are illegal, according to Reuters.

The security at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, where the United States' opener against Wales was to take place, asked him to take off the shirt.

Grant Wahl who now owns website complained that his phone had been taken away when he tweeted about the incident.

Before the incident going from bad to worse, a security commander apologized for the mess-up allowing him into the venue, the report said.

Later, Grant Wahl received an apology from representative of soccer's international governing body, FIFA.

Months before the games were to start, many wondered how Qatar would handle visiting sexual minorities, and authorities on Monday however saved face by quickly patching up.