Two regional sister titles have redesigned their mastheads in protest at what their editor has called the “jarring” decision to hold football’s World Cup in Qatar.

The Birmingham Mail and its Birmingham Live sister website’s mastheads will feature both a rainbow and a football during the tournament to show solidarity with LGBT+ people in the Middle Eastern country.

The gesture came ahead of England, Wales and other European nations deciding their team’s captains would not wear ‘OneLove’ armbands during matches to promote diversity and inclusion on the grounds that they could face “sporting sanctions” for doing so.

Being gay is illegal in Qatar and punishable by prison sentences, or even the death sentence for Muslims.

The changed masthead debuted on Saturday’s front page

Explaining the change of mastheads, editor Graeme Brown said: “Nobody should be treated how LGBT+ people are treated in Qatar. Love is love and it is jarring to me that the World Cup is taking place in a country where the authorities don’t respect that.

“But it is worse than that – people travelling to support England in Qatar could actually face jail for doing what comes absolutely naturally.

“It already troubles me that so few professional footballers in our country have come out as gay. In a country of football-lovers, I hate to think the message we send to LGBT+ football fans in our area and beyond.

“So, while we will report on the matches and fallout from the tournament, I want to make it abundantly clear that we stand side by side with that community.”

Last year, the Mail launched a campaign called ‘Hands Not Hate’ to unite its patch against hate crimes following a spate of attacks on gay people in the Birmingham area.