David Beckham breaks his silence on Qatar following controversial World Cup role
David Beckham claims taking an ambassadorial role for last year’s Qatar World Cup was an opportunity to change perceptions as he defended his decision not to speak publicly during the tournament.
The former Manchester United star said that he did not want to fuel “the fire ” in debates around the Gulf state’s human rights record and treatment of the LGBTQ community.
Beckham agreed a multi-year deal with the Qatari tourism board worth a reported $15m per annum. Yet he received fierce backlash from campaigners and celebrities for the endorsement and his decision to remain mute during the tournament drew further criticism.
Now Beckham, in an interview with the Athletic, has said that he remains comfortable with his choice and believes that social progress is being made in Qatar, a country where being gay is punishable by jail time and migrant workers continue to work in inhumane conditions.
“Anything I go into, I do every kind of check to make sure it is the right thing for me, is the right thing for my business and is the right thing morally,” Beckham said.
Ten Hag has dream Man Utd line up as last-gasp January transfers are secured
“I was an ambassador of the World Cup in Qatar because I love the game. I also know and have been — not in business — part of Qatar since I signed for PSG. They asked me if I would be involved in the World Cup. I wanted to be involved in the World Cup because I’ve always said this game can change lives, can change people’s perceptions, and when you bring a World Cup into any country, it shines a huge spotlight on issues.
“I saw that as an opportunity. Firstly, to be involved in another World Cup. Secondly, Qatar is a relatively young country, it’s on a journey and there’s change. What comes with hosting a World Cup brings change.
“The Qataris said from day one, ‘Everybody is welcome’. I came away after the final thinking, ‘This is possibly one of the safest World Cups I’ve been to’. I spoke to people from the LGBTQ community. I was comfortable with the decision I made to get involved because I always feel that to make change you have to communicate, you have to engage.”
But Beckham, who has also appeared at other marquee events hosted by Qatar including their date on the Formula 1 calendar, did not make any attempts to communicate publicly during the tournament. That drew criticism from campaigners who accused him of accepting a paycheck in exchange for smiling in pictures.
David Beckham attends England's group game versus Iran in Doha.Yet the now Inter Miami owner has hit back at those accusations despite admitting that “the right thing to do” was to “stay quiet” while in Qatar.
“I’d like to feel that the trust of anyone who has respected me over the years — the amount of years they’ve either looked up to me, thought I’m a nice person or whatever — outweighs anything they feel I have done wrong or made a mistake with,” he says.
“I was comfortable with not speaking out there because, firstly, I felt that once the tournament started, the football, the atmosphere, would speak for itself. I also didn’t want to come out and be the person who is fuelling the fire. I felt, ‘I’m going to talk at the right time’.
“People know my stance on different issues around the world and the people closest to me know that. So I don’t need to fuel any person that wants to come out and criticise me because I felt the right thing to do is stay quiet and answer anything I need to answer when I’m ready.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
