Have I Got News For You host Gary Neville was slammed by regular panellist Ian Hislop during Friday’s night’s edition of the popular BBC show for his decision to work as a pundit at the World Cup in Qatar, despite his criticisms of the Arab country.
Neville was chosen to take the chair in the seventh episode of the latest series, but was on the receiving end of Hislop’s ire when talk turned to the World Cup, with fellow panellist Richard Madeley the first to have a dig at celebrities “going over there for huge cheques”, citing the likes of Robbie Williams and The Black Eyed Peas, who are going there to perform, calling their decisions to do so “extraordinary”.
But Neville was soon to be the target of Hislop’s wrath after asking him, “Ian, is it coming home?”, to which Hislop replied: “What, your reputation?”, to cheers from the audience.
One of the channels Neville will be working for is beIN Sports, owned by the Qatari state, which has faced huge criticism for its human rights record. But despite those concerns, Neville will be working for the broadcaster throughout the tournament and Hislop decided now was a good moment to take aim.
“The others have been very gentle with you Gary, but the elephant in the room is still there – you’re commentating there, aren’t you?,” he asked the squirming Neville. And when the former Manchester United star replied that he was, Hislop leaped in with: “And what’s your defence?”
Neville responded: “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.”
Hislop hit back: “There’s another option, you stay at home and highlight the abuses. You don’t have to go and take the Qataris money – it’s just not a very good defence.”
By now he was in stride and performed a little comedy routine following Neville insisting “you can highlight the issues during commentary”, sarcastically acting out: “And it’s the kick-off in this appalling country, with a terrible human rights record, and honestly… oh, I think someone’s kicking a ball, but honestly the amount of immigrant workers who have died is a shock… ooh, it’s a goal.”
Neville has previously hit back at critics of his decision to work for beIN Sports during the tournament. Last month, he attempted to defend his move and insisted he would shine a light on Qatar's poor human rights record.
“Qatar have had Amnesty International and the International Labour Organisation all over them for the last 10 years because of the World Cup. We either decide that we collaborate with these countries, and try and impact change through football,” he told the Daily Mail. “Or we say we’re never going to let them play sport, we’re never going to have a World Cup there, we’re never going to allow them to compete against us because they don’t have what would be as progressive rights as they should have. That is the reality of where I'm at with it.
“There’s no-one that I think wants workers’ rights to be better than me, there’s no-one who wants women’s rights, equality or diversity more than me. I absolutely believe in it. When I highlight these issues, I can do so from a position whereby if I am covering eight games on beIN in a World Cup, and those issues come up or there’s an incident outside the stadium, I will highlight them. I will never shy away from it.”
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