Daily Mail: Beckham ignores Qatari abuses against workers for money
Amnesty International has renewed its criticism of former English football star David Beckham after he praised Qatar and ignored its appalling human rights record during a World Cup promotion interview, showing Beckham and his friend Gary Neville walking in the Qatari capital Doha and praising the country’s hospitality and the warmth of its people.
According to the Daily Mail, Beckham’s 30-minute promotion did not mention his £10 million deal with Qatar to become World Cup Ambassador, citing Amnesty International’s human rights accusations against the former 47-year-old English national star that he missed an opportunity to highlight injustice in the small Gulf emirate, where minorities are persecuted and hatred and oppression of women is rampant. Amnesty International renewed its criticism of David Beckham after the former English footballer praised Qatar but ignored its appalling human rights record.
A spokesperson for the organization said: “The film was shiny and full of football tales, but unfortunately the film does not mention at all Qatar’s long history of work violations, or indeed any other human rights issue”, the newspaper said. The prediction that David Beckham would be given his lucrative deal to be a football ambassador in Qatar suggested he should use his unique profile to keep the world focused on human rights issues related to the World Cup in Qatar, but this seems like a missed opportunity.
In an interview with YouTube’s Sky Bet, Beckham said: “I have come to Qatar now several years ago, and I have seen the generosity of the people and the warmth of the people”. The newspaper criticized Beckham’s disregard for the workers as he did not thank the hands that turned Qatar into a country capable of hosting such a huge event in just 12 years, after having only one stadium and several hotels. It added that the workers sacrificed their lives to build these huge facilities after being forced to work hard for long hours without vacations or hours of rest and for very little pay, sometimes even for nothing.
