LGBT Fans Fear for Safety During World Cup in Russia 

The World Cup of 2018 is being held in Russia, and many LGBT fans fear for their safety if they attend. The country has laws against "homosexual propaganda" and is notorious for violence against gay men in the Chechnya region. LGBT football fan organizations around the world have been sent anonymous threats from Russian fans to stay away. The Russian LGBT Sport Federation is working with international antidiscrimination networks on "diversity houses" to provide safe spaces for LGBT and ethnic minority fans to watch the tournament. "[LGBT] fans feel that the organizing committee of the World Cup has a very formal approach and that there is not really any solution to the problem ... that there are no measures that guarantee security for [LGBT] football fans, nor their acceptance in the football community," said Alexander Agapov, president of the Russian LGBT Sport Federation.