Gary Neville came under fire for his participation in Qatar 2022 while hosting the BBC TV show ‘Have I Got News for You’.
The tournament will be held in Qatar later this month, a decision that has been widely criticized in the West due to the country’s alleged human rights problems.
While some high-profile people have spoken out against Qatar hosting this year, others, such as David Beckham, have taken on promotional roles for the competition.
And, despite his criticism of the country’s alleged human rights issues, Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville will be a World Cup commentator for Qatar-owned broadcaster beIN Sports.
He defended his decision in an interview with the Daily Mail in October. He said:
“Either we decide that we collaborate with these countries and try to impact change through football, which is what I think we should always do, or we say that we will never let them play sports, that we will never have a World Cup there. , we’re never going to allow them to compete against us because they don’t have what would be the progressive rights that they should have.
“That’s the reality of where I’m at with that. There is no one who believes that they want workers’ rights better than me, there is no one who wants women’s rights, equality or diversity more than I do, I absolutely believe in it.
An Ian Hislop didn’t hold back from trying Gary Neville on the latest episode of Have I Got News For You, questioning the Englishman why he agreed to comment on the World Cup in Qatar.
It was Paul Merton who first started the discussion by asking Neville how much he thinks David Beckham is being paid for World Cup promotion.
A cheeky question, met with a cheeky response from Neville, who replied, “I don’t know. More than me!”, before trying to deflect the subject by asking Hislop if he is “coming home?”
But Hislop wanted none of that. He shot directly at Neville sarcastically asking him if he was talking about “his reputation of him” about him. before asking him to address the elephant in the room. He told Neville, “The elephant in the room is what you’re talking about there. What is the defense?
To which the Sky Sports man again tried to defend himself. He said:
“Yes, I am commenting. Well, you have a choice, don’t you? My point of view has always been that either you highlight the problems and challenges in these countries and talk about them, or you basically say nothing and stay home and don’t go.
“And I think we should challenge them.”
Hislop was quick to respond by suggesting that there is another option which is to ‘stay home’. He said:
“There is another option: you stay at home and report the abuse. You don’t have to go and take the money from the Qatari. I’m not trying to be boring, but it’s not a very good defense.”
Gary Neville being called out for his Qatari hypocrisy is a great watch. pic.twitter.com/exrOgBoJFm
— Emily Hewertson (@emilyhewertson) November 4, 2022
Pictures via BBC
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This exchange had visibly shaken Gary Neville, who looked bewildered and very uncomfortable.
