The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has said that gay fans will be welcome at the 2022 World Cup, but demanded that visitors “respect our culture”. Speaking at a news conference in Berlin following the signing of an energy partnership between Germany and Qatar, al-Thani said: “Everybody is welcome in Doha. We do not stop anyone from coming to Doha with any different backgrounds, or any different beliefs. Qatar is a very welcoming country. We have millions of people that come and visit our country and the World Cup is a great opportunity for people from different parts of the world to come and experience our culture. “We will not stop anybody from coming and enjoying the football. But I also want everybody to come and understand and enjoy our culture. We welcome everybody, but also we expect and we want people to respect our culture,” he said.