Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra announced on Radio France Info on Sunday that French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Qatar on Wednesday to attend the World Cup semifinal match between France and Morocco.

Castéra, who attended the quarterfinal match on Saturday evening in which the French team defeated the English team 2-1, said: "I will return with the president on Wednesday, the details of the trip have not been finalized yet, he has committed to it and will fulfill it happily."

The minister added: "The (France) team watched yesterday (Saturday), paying attention to every second, and will be a source of strength for us in this next stage."

Even before the World Cup began, the French president announced that he would attend the semifinal or final if the "Les Bleus" team qualified, a controversial commitment due to criticisms of migrant workers' conditions in Qatar, the environmental impact of air-conditioned stadiums, and the status of women and minorities.

Macron also posted a tweet on Saturday evening via Twitter: "Congratulations to the Blues! The whole country supports you: we will go to the end together. To the Moroccans: we salute your historic victory. Our appointment is the semifinal!"

It is worth noting that the French Sports Minister attended the stands to follow the match between the France and England teams, wearing a blue jacket with rainbow-colored sleeves, a gesture of support for LGBTQ rights.

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra explained to France Info Radio: "Yesterday was the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was important to express my commitment to human rights as a whole, including LGBTQ rights... and to do so without hostility towards Qatar, which is our partner."

The French official continued: "Sport is fundamentally based on respect for others, and at its core it is against discrimination, it is a space to bring people together around universal values."

In the same context, homosexuality as well as sex outside of marriage are criminalized in Qatar, which has led to severe criticism of the Qatari authorities and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).