Shrewsbury Town captain to wear rainbow band in Qatar match

Shrewsbury Town FC said it was aware of the concerns ahead of the pre-season training match

A football club said its captain would wear a rainbow armband following concerns from LGBTQ+ fans ahead of a match against a team from Qatar.

Fan group Proud Salopians said they were "disappointed" over Shrewsbury Town FC's plans to play a pre-season training match with Qatar SC at a hotel pitch in Spain.

Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and there are strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Shrewsbury Town said it was in "open dialogue" with its fans.

In a statement, shared on Twitter, Proud Salopians said: "Whilst we have no animosity towards the fans, players or officials of Qatar SC, we feel strongly that the club ultimately represents a country with worrying stances against the LGBTQ+ community, women's rights and overall human rights."

It said "ideally" it believed the match should not go ahead.

Earlier this month, Watford cancelled a friendly against the Qatar national side after complaints from supporters' groups concerned about human rights.

The country has also been heavily criticised over its treatment of migrant workers building stadiums for the World Cup.

Qatar will stage the competition from 21 November to 18 December.

The World Cup will also be boycotted by some of the Wales national team's staff because of the country's stance on gay rights.

"Through our continuous open dialogue with Proud Salopians, our LGBTQ+ supporters group, we have discussed the training game and for this match, our captain will be wearing the Rainbow Laces captain's armband to show solidarity with our LGBTQ+ community," Shrewsbury Town said.

"There is no place in society for any form of discrimination and Shrewsbury Town FC is an inclusive community and family club that works very closely with all of our supporters to be inclusive of the nine protected characteristics of equality."