Shrewsbury Town cancel pre-season friendly against Qatar SC
- Published
Shrewsbury Town's plans to play Qatar faced opposition
Shrewsbury have cancelled a pre-season friendly against a side from Qatar.
Town's LGBTQ+ fans' group Proud Salopians, external called for the game on 6 July against Qatar SC to be scrapped.
The League One club will instead host an open training session on the same day at their pre-season training camp in Valencia.
Watford this week cancelled a friendly against the Qatar national side after complaints from supporters' groups concerned about human rights.
However, Portsmouth say they will play Qatar SC - a club side from the Gulf state - on 9 July as part of their pre-season trip to Spain.
In a club statement,, external Shrewsbury did not give a reason for the game being called off.
They said it had been arranged at short notice to replace a planned game with Coventry City, which fell through as both clubs could not agree on a venue based on the locations of their respective training camps.
On Wednesday, Shrewsbury had said their captain would wear a rainbow armband for the match against Qatar SC following the concerns raised by their supporters.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and there are strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
The country has also been heavily criticised over its treatment of migrant workers building stadiums for the World Cup, to be held later this year.