Although the World Cup in Qatar kicks off in nine days, the organisation says that there is plenty of time for the Qatari Government to end mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people.

It says a priority should be halting any Government-sponsored programmes aimed at conversion practices.

"Salman's suggestions are harmful and wrong," a Human Rights Watch statement read.

"The Qatari government should reject this prejudice but has yet to do so.

"False information can be harmful to lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, including residents of Qatar, who already face discrimination, violence, and state-sponsored conversion practices.

"Comments like these only fuel existing bias, undermine basic human rights, and further exclude LGBT people from the public sphere."

Salman was confirmed as one of the tournament's 10 local ambassadors which have been "carefully selected" and "play a unique role in communicating our vision for the FIFA World Cup."

He represented Qatar at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games where he scored a brace against France which was the country's only two goals at the event.

His comments came during an interview with German television channel ZDF and have sparked outrage. 

Salman said he has problems with children seeing gay men and argued that they would be negatively influenced before the interview was stopped by a World Cup Organising Committee press officer.

"Qatari authorities should publicly condemn violence against LGBT people and formally recognize that having same-sex sexual attraction is not a mental health condition," continued Human Rights Watch.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community have been known to be victim of arbitrary arrests by the Preventive Security Department in Qatar.

As a requirement for their release, security forces mandate that transgender women detainees attend conversion therapy sessions at a Government-sponsored "behavioural healthcare" centre.

The World Cup is scheduled to take place from November 20 to December 18 and Salman remains an ambassador alongside the likes of World Cup winners Xavi Hernández of Spain and Brazil's Cafu.