Beckham ‘is putting money before morals’ with £10m Qatar deal
TV STAR Robert Rinder has condemned David Beckham for striking a £10million deal to promote the World Cup despite the host country’s discrimination against women and gay people.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, known as Judge Rinder, also blasted the decision to hold the tournament in Qatar as a ‘disgrace’.
Hitting out at the former footballer for putting ‘money before morals’, Mr Rinder told The Mail on Sunday that nations should not be allowed to use sport to ‘cleanse’ their reputations.
Mr Rinder, 44, who is gay, also condemned the Middle East state’s treatment of migrant construction workers, thousands of whom are said to have died while building stadiums for the tournament which starts next month.
He said: ‘There should be basic requirements before you are entitled to [host] them, and that’s not just about LGBTQ. It’s about the 6,500 workers who died, it’s about the fact that Beckham’s daughter Harper would not be able to continue with her education [if she was Qatari] without the permission of a male relative.’
Homosexuality in Qatar is punishable by three years in prison.
Last year, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Mr Beckham, 47, had signed the Qatar deal. Last month, he released a promotional video describing the repressive nation as ‘perfection’.