Robbie Williams faces fury over plan to perform in Qatar for World Cup – after gig at Russia 2018 opening ceremony
ROBBIE Williams has faced fury over plans to perform at the World Cup in anti-gay Qatar.
The singer, 48, will have scored a "huge own goal" if he sings in the repressive host country, one disappointed fan said.
Another said it would be "incomprehensible" for the showman, long perceived to be a supporter of the LGBT community, to play there, the reported.
It comes after it was announced Williams would be among the big acts playing at the Qatar Live concerts in December.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and gay people face fines or up to seven years in jail. World Cup chiefs had to give assurances that gay fans won't be persecuted when they arrive next month.
The country has also been condemned for its treatment of women and migrant workers.
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TV’s Paul O’Grady, 67, said: "I’m surprised at Robbie. There’ll be a backlash by the LGBTQ community if he does perform.
"No amount of money would get me there."
Williams, currently on his XXV tour, also performed at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He is set to play at the Doha Gold Club on December 8.
Phil Dann wrote on a fan page: "How do fans make an official protest?
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"I’m sorry but the Qatar World Cup is wrong on many levels and I am disappointed that Robbie feels it is acceptable to so blatantly support it. It is a huge own goal for him."
Nic Schwarten added: "His opinion seems to be clear, otherwise he wouldn’t appear there. It’s really incomprehensible that he appears there."
Robbie Williams' reps have been approached for comment.
Today we revealed England's World Cup build-up is in a heap of rubble — with the team hotel a construction site just a month before kick-off.
The Sun witnessed migrant builders in overalls toiling in 35C heat to finish a swimming pool for Three Lions stars.
A pool bar and changing room were still being hewn from bare breeze blocks.
Outside the hotel entrance camels watched welders and workmen start turning a dusty site into a car park.
But bosses at the Souq Al Wakra Hotel, where the Football. Association has booked all 101 rooms, insist work will be completed before Gareth Southgate’s team arrives next month.
Meanwhile, a cockroach-ridden £650-a-night hovel is among filthy rip-off flats on offer to England fans at the Qatar World Cup.
We posed as Three Lions followers to view the tiny concrete box described by its owner, Hilal, as “adorable” on rental site Airbnb.
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The flat, with its cracked walls, soiled mattress and at least five ’roaches in the kitchen, was next to a noisy building site in Doha.
Another Airbnb host, Riham, was offering digs in the capital with stained walls and a lounge kitchenette for £534 a night.
