Gary Lineker has slammed Qatar for their “corrupt” World Cup bid and explained why he is covering the tournament despite feeling “queasy” about the country’s human rights record.
Lineker will front the BBC ’s coverage of the Qatar World Cup, which begins on November 20 and runs until the final on December 18. The former England striker is a veteran broadcaster, having covered six previous tournaments, but feels this one will be completely different to previous incarnations.
In an interview with the i newspaper, he revealed that the BBC had consulted organisations like Amnesty International to discuss sports washing and ensure they hit the right tone in their programming. He said the opening show will be like a “mini Panorama” and will focus on the many issues surrounding the tournament, rather than the football.
“I’m a little queasy about it,” he said. “The human rights, the deaths building the stadiums, the homophobia in their laws, none of it sits right.
“What separates this one from the others is we know it’s corrupt, it has now been proven. Most of the FIFA committee are either in jail, have been banned from football or fined. But we’re stuck with it and the new FIFA incumbents. While they might make mistakes, I don’t think they’re corrupt.
“They’re stuck with it, it was too far down the road to change it and it’s the same for us. We’re going there to broadcast it – journalists are going too but we’re there to report on it not support it. We’re not cheerleaders for it and that’s an important thing.”
Seventeen members of the FIFA executive committee which voted to send the World Cup to Qatar have since been accused, banned or indicted over allegations of corruption and wrongdoing to do with the Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 bids. Qatar has always strongly denied any corruption.
The 61-year-old Match of the Day presenter has been a vocal critic of Qatar over the past few years. He has gained a following of 8.6million people on Twitter by addressing broader issues around football and will continue to do so while in the Middle Eastern country for work.
Lineker says he declined an invitation from FIFA to host the draw over the summer because he didn’t want to appear “hypocritical”. His stance is similar to that of Gary Neville, who received flak from Ian Hislop on Have I Got News for You recently for his decision to travel to Qatar to cover it for beIN SPORTS.
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"Yeah, I'm commentating,” Neville said. “Well, you've got a choice, haven't you? My view always has been that you either highlight the issues and challenges in these countries and speak about them, or you basically don't say anything and stay back home and don't go. And I think we should challenge them."
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, sparking concerns that visitors to the country might face prejudice.
Qatar has been heavily criticised for its reliance on low-paid migrant workers to build the eight stadiums required to host the World Cup.
