I was talking to a senior official from Fifa.
I wanted to know how the LGBTQ+ community would be treated at the World Cup in a country where homosexuality is against the law.
Joyce Cook, herself a gay woman, paused before answering.
She said that if you go to places you open up.
Our tournaments have to be inclusive for our hosts. We have a long way to go before we host the tournament and leave a legacy.
It's too early to say what the World Cup will mean.
There can be no question.
Despite the repeated pledges of both Fifa and the Qatari authorities to make 'everyone welcome', those who were from - or supporting - the LGBTQ+ community have not felt that way.
The former Wales captain was told to get rid of his hat. An ally of the gay community was briefly held by the authorities for trying to enter a stadium.
A gay fan who took a greyscaled Pride flag to a game was made to throw it in the bin; another was forced to unfurl his Pride banners by guards who approached him on the metro.
A BBC cameraman who wore a Pride watch strap was initially barred from entering a stadium - and was only able to gain entry after a phone call to the authorities.
One of the country's World Cup ambassadors described homosexuality as "damage in the mind".
There were many stories of people being stopped.
The assurances that wouldn't be the case were given by the two entities. It did happen.
It's important to point out that the experience of many LGBTQ+ football fans in the UK or other countries competing in the World Cup is not usually the same.
The way football has worked to make the community feel more welcome is one of the most heartening changes I have seen.
From the Premier League's participation in the Rainbow Laces campaign to the rise of LGBTQ+ fan groups, the game has made huge strides in a relatively short period.
The progress that has been made in football is seen as an essential part of making the game more inclusive.
At the World Cup, some of the most powerful names in the game put up a debate about how football should be played.
Those OneLove armbands that European fans had got used to seeing at the Nations League?
According to the World Cup chief, they were not a symbol of diversity and inclusion, but an effort to leave a divisive message.
The ability of football to "change the world" that Gianni Infantino spoke about in May?
That didn't apply to players who wanted to draw attention to alleged human rights abuses in Qatar, who were instead urged by Fifa to focus on football and not get dragged into ideological or political battles.
And that "symbolic and proud moment" Fifa highlighted as it flew the Pride flag outside its headquarters in June?
All well and good, but captains couldn't wear a rainbow of their own at the tournament without being booked.
There was a press conference.
The day before the World Cup's opening match, the Fifa president accused critics ofQatar's human rights record of "hypocrisy" and of delivering a "one-sided moral lesson" - and claimed he knew how people faced discrimination because he'd been bullied for his
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, and can be punishable by fines, imprisonment and even death.
Infantino's comments were part of a larger pattern in which football figures framed the discussion about the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in the host nation as one of cultural and political differences.
"I would like reforms that would say I can be gay and not worry about being killed, that's what I'd like to see."
No matter the country's LGBTQ+ supporters organisation, the Proud Maroons, couldn't openly watch their national team because, in the group's own words, fans feared that "joining would send them to jail".
The conversation was different. Football fans were accused of disrespecting the host nation's traditions by saying that no-one should be punished for being gay.
Football's world governing body wrote in November that they try to respect all opinions and beliefs without giving out moral lessons to the rest of the world. No one culture or nation is better than the others.
The former manager of the club suggested that teams who tried to draw attention to the issues of the gay community in the country had performed worse.
The statement itself was debatable - with Australia's footballers defying expectations to reach the knockout stages, after releasing a video condemning human rights abuses in the country.
That wasn't the purpose.
At the World Cup, the norms that fans of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer community had come to know were being challenged.
To support the right of people to go to games with who they loved, wearing what they wanted, embracing every part of themselves was not a good thing.
It had become one side of a debate to be balanced against the views of those who don't want the community to have that right.
The rights of LGBTQ+ people to exist as themselves in football had become political again.
Football as we know it is beginning to stir after the curtain fell on Qatar.
Fans of England's top men's teams will be back in the stands next week when the premier league returns.
The pitches will get cold. There will be a drop in points.
All of it will feel normal.
There is no easy return to the way things used to be.
Too many questions remain after a period where many assumptions were challenged.
The Women's World Cup will be held in New Zealand next year.
Will countries that criminalise homosexuality be able to host tournaments?
How are gay people seen by those in control of football?
Most of the people I've spoken to during the tournament have said the same thing.
They don't like what's happening.
They don't feel appreciated.
They don't feel welcomed.
This World Cup will be remembered as much as anything.
Jack is the host of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual sport show. You can listen to new episodes on the radio.
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