Roy Keane has claimed that the World Cup is ‘stained’ due to human-rights issues in Qatar, where this edition of the tournament has been held.
There have been reports of thousands of migrant-worker deaths in the state, which is known to have anti-LGBT+ laws and attitudes.
Addressing “human rights” during ITV’s build-up to Sunday’s final between Argentina and France, Keane said: “This World Cup is stained, that’s the bottom line.
“The football’s been great, but the football was always gonna be great because you’ve got world-class players, but it is stained.”
It is not the first time that the former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain has been critical of the decision to stage the World Cup in Qatar.
During Argentina’s shock group-stage loss to Saudi Arabia, 51-year-old Keane said: “The World Cup shouldn’t be here. It shouldn’t be here.
“[There’s] the corruption regarding [global football governing body] Fifa, [and] you’ve got a country, the way they treat migrant workers, gay people.
“They shouldn’t have the World Cup here. You can’t treat people like that. We all love football, we love soccer, we’re on about spreading the game. Just to dismiss human rights flippantly because of a football tournament… it’s not right.
“The bottom line is we are talking about common decency, how you treat people. Football, the greatest sport in the world, there is so much money involved; there will be corruption. But let’s get back to basics, you have to treat people with decency. It should start and finish with that.”
