David Beckham has moved to defend his decision to act as an ambassador for Qatar, a country where LGBT+ people face persecution, but his arguments just lead to more questions
David Beckham has attempted to defend his contract with Qatar
David Beckham’s attempted defence of his contract with Qatar needs to be called out for what it is - nonsense.
Beckham has a 10-year deal to represent the Middle East state, for which he receives a massive £125million fee. The England captain’s role is to promote the country, starring as the face of adverts to attract tourists to visit.
That’s despite Qatar’s appalling human rights record, with LGBT+ people living in fear of persecution and beatings by police. Last year, Mirror Football reported on the terrifying existence people from the community are forced to lead in Qatar.
Still, at least Beckham has done a “lot of research” into the country and satisfied himself that LGBT+ people are perfectly safe to live there. Thanks for looking into it for us, because for a minute I was worried that the human rights charities, people who have escaped the country and even Qatar’s own laws made it clear that the state is a place for LGBT+ people to avoid.
Beckham’s “research” came as the England icon defended himself for choosing to sign up to receive a bucketload of Qatari cash. He even insisted that there was no evidence that people from the community were in danger.
“I do a lot of research into partners that I’m going into business with. And I wanted to be involved in another World Cup. I like to see the game grow, and that means it going into territories it hasn’t been in before,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“I knew there’d be questions, I knew there was going to be criticism, but I’ve always been a believer that football is such a powerful tool. I knew that once the World Cup started, not that it would go away, but it was all then about how people were treated, how people weren’t excluded, what an experience the World Cup would be.
“I spent a month out there, and not one person came up to me and said, ‘Oh my God, I’ve been treated like this, oh my God, I wasn’t allowed into this place…’ I was around the LGBTQ community, I spoke to people on the ground. So I was happy with my decision.”
Beckham is the face of tourist adverts in Qatar (
Image:
Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
That last paragraph shows that either Beckham is avoiding the truth or he has his head in the sand. Every single day of the World Cup a new story broke about Qatari security officials confiscating rainbow-coloured items and generally making the place as hostile as possible for LGBT+ people.
Beckham is talking total nonsense.
It’s not only LGBT+ people who can be rightly up in arms over his pathetic defence. Every football fan should be calling out his hypocrisy, given that back in 2011, before he signed his deal, Beckham hit out at the process that saw Qatar handed the right to host the tournament.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Watch the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and much more
TNT Sports gives you access to games across the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, Serie A and many more. You can also watch the biggest clashes in boxing, UFC, WWE and the get exclusive action from MLB all for one payment every month. You can watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
£29.99 a month and get access to discovery+ Premium at no extra cost
TNT Sports
“It gives you a real sick feeling. There was obviously something wrong with the system when you look at the investigations since the vote and some of the things that have come out. At the time, you don’t suspect it,” he told The Guardian at the time.
“When people tell you to your face that you have got their vote, you want to believe them. Then the vote happens and yeah, you start to think, ‘This is a little bit weird.’ It just felt unfair. The decisions have been made and, whether they can be changed, I’ve no power over that.”
This apparent turnaround in his view of Qatar leaves many questions.
But it is overwhelmingly obvious that his defence of his decision to represent a country that can thank corruption for being handed a showpiece event and persecutes a section of its citizens just does not stack up.
**Join our new WhatsApp community! Clickthis link to receive your daily dose of _ _Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. **
