Blatter advises gay fans to “refrain” from sex at Qatar World Cup

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has advised gay football fans to “refrain from any sexual activities” when attending the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Blatter’s insensitive comment came during a press conference in South Africa arranged to discuss the legacy of this year's tournament.

The Fifa boss attempted to laugh off the comment and went on to say: "I'm sure when the World Cup will be in Qatar there will be no problems."

Qatar was the surprise winner of the race to host the 2022 World Cup, beating Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United States when the 22-man Fifa executive committee voted in their favour in Zurich on 2 December.

The choice of host as been strongly criticised by gay rights groups as Qatar forbids homosexuality.

Concerns were also raised about hosting the tournament during the summer months in a country where temperatures can reach 40C to 50C while current laws ban drinking alcohol in public.