England's manager Gareth Southgate arrives at the Hamad International Airport, in Doha, on November 15
(Picture: Photo by Paul Ellis / AFP via Getty Images)It’s one of the most controversial World Cups in history, with host country Qatar plagued by human-rights concerns and ill-treatment of LGBTQ+ people ahead of the tournament.
Still, this week the England squad arrived in Qatar ahead of Sunday’s official kick-off, on a “Rain Bow” Virgin Atlantic A350 Airbus. Featuring a motif of Oscar — the airline’s LGBTQ+ Union Jack-trailing flying icon – the Gay Pride jet was proposed by FA chiefs as a defiant gesture against the country’s draconian ban of homosexuality under Sharia law (even though the airline has scrapped gender-neutral uniforms on flights to Qatar).
