Drunk fans to be sent to special areas to sober up at World Cup

Drunk fans will be sent to special areas to sober up during the World Cup, tournament chief Nasser Al Khater has said.

Usually, alcohol is only sold in hotel bars in Qatar, but that will change for the month-long duration of the tournament. Supporters will also be able to buy it outside stadiums and in fan zones.

That has led to concerns from those within the country of drunken misbehaviour and vandalism, but the organisers have a plan to limit that.

Speaking to Sky, Al Khater stated that there will be designated areas where drunk fans can go to sober up.

"There are plans in place for people to sober up if they've been drinking excessively," he said.

"It's a place to make sure that they keep themselves safe, they're not harmful to anybody else."

The anti-LGBTQ laws in the country have been a big talking point ahead of the World Cup with posters 'welcoming' visitors prohibiting homosexuality.

Al Khater claims that fans can display rainbow flags and hold hands with those of the same sex, and that nobody will be discriminated against as long as they don't harm people or property.

"All we ask is for people to be respectful of the culture," he said.

"At the end of the day, as long as you don't do anything that harms other people, if you're not destroying public property, as long as you're behaving in a way that's not harmful, then everybody's welcome and you have nothing to worry about."