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31 August 2022

David Beckham faces backlash after praising anti-LGBTQ Qatar

In a short promo Beckham describes Qatar as "an incredible place".

By Emily Maskell

Words: Emily Maskell; pictures: Wiki Commons

David Beckham is facing widespread criticism for his appearance and praise for Qatar in a promotional video released on Monday (29 August).

In the promotion for Visit Qatar (the one-minute and 30-minute versions – both on YouTube) the 47-year-old former England player can be seen visiting local spice markets, smiling wide as he drives on a motorcycle through the streets and calling the country “an incredible place,” adding: “I cannot wait to bring my children back.”

Once deemed a great LGBTQ+ ally, Beckham is now being slammed for appearing in the promo ahead of the World Cup and his outright praise for the country in which homosexuality is illegal and punishable with up to three years in prison, or death under Sharia law. 

Beckham has already come under fire for signing a deal worth £150 million to be the face of the World Cup in Qatar.

3Lionspride, a group of LGBT England football supporters described Beckham as “nothing more than the latest in a line of sellouts” after formerly being “labeled a gay icon”.

“A tale of David Beckham’s life lasting 7 short years, and £10 million quid,” one tweet reads after the release of the Qatar-Beckham video, alongside two images of Beckham’s Instagram promoting LGBTQ+ and women’s rights and another two images detailing Qatar’s controversial treatment of women and LGBTQ+ people.

Another tweet echoes the hypocrisy of supporting the LGBTQ+ community and then being the face of Qatar’s tourism: “where homosexuality comes with punishment of up to 3 years in prison and a fine and the possibility of death penalty for Muslims […] Not that he needs the cash but £10m in the bank helps”.

“Something so sinister about David Beckham’s stance on the Qatar WC,” another wrote on Twitter. “It’s the fact he’s tried and succeeded to conceal his true motivations by building a full proof public image and air of trustworthiness with the people who once adorned him. Trust is a dangerous word.”

Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK’s head of priority campaigns, says: “This is just the latest slick and positive video about Qatar that David Beckham has put his face to, and yet again there’s no mention of the county’s appalling human rights record”, the Telegraph reports (31 August).

Jakens goes on to outline that Beckham is perfect PR for Qatar’s image but the public figure should instead be using his platform “to call on Fifa and the Qatari authorities to properly remedy the terrible abuses that tens of thousands of migrant workers have faced in building the infrastructure to deliver the World Cup.”

“Beckham has said he hoped football would prove a force for good in Qatar,” Jakens continues. “At the moment it seems his involvement is good news for Qatar’s tourist industry, not for human rights.”

The World Cup takes place in Qatar from 21 November to 18 December 2022.

Attitude has approached David Beckham’s representatives for comment. 

The Attitude September/October issue is out now.

 

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