By Victor Kanayo
Qatar have expressed disgust over what they described as “very racist”, the approach at which BBC is covering ongoing 2022 World Cup.
Specifically, the head of the World Cup Hassan Al-Thawadi accused Gary Lineker of repeatedly snubbing attempts to engage with organisers before criticising them live on air.
He also lashed out at ITV pundit Roy Keane in a blistering attack on the fiercest critics of one of the most controversial events ever staged.
Al-Thawadi, the Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, went on the attack over the BBC’s decision to begin its World Cup coverage with a monologue from Lineker about the scandals to plague the build-up to the tournament and to focus on those at the expense of the opening ceremony, according to Telegraph.
He condemned comments by Jürgen Klinsmann, one of the corporation’s star pundits, in which the former Germany player and manager accused Iran of having a “culture” of gamesmanship, and took issue with Keane’s contention that the World Cup should not be in Qatar.
Al-Thawadi told Talksport: “Unfortunately, I’ve seen some of the coverage that seems to be kind of pushing towards that stereotype of the Middle East. I’ll give an example: the Iran-Wales game. Iran played very good – would you say so? They were the better team, up until the 95th or 96th minute, right?
“And yet the coverage that we saw, for example, on BBC, by Jürgen Klinsmann, talking about how it’s part of their culture, and reflecting the players in a way that was – I hate using the word but I will use only once just because I don’t ever want to give power to the word – very, very elitist, very orientalist, very racist to a certain extent.
“When you’re sitting down looking at what was happening and you’re saying, ‘That’s part of their culture’, what do you mean by that? Was it misunderstood or was it was a reflection he was representing a culture in a very negative way?”
Al-Thawadi, who attended university in the UK, added: “When it comes to statements that come out, for example, from Roy or from Gary, or whoever else it is, there was no engagement.
“The sad part, for example, for me: Gary Lineker, as I was growing up, I looked up to him.
“I used to look at They Think It’s All Over. For me, it was a show that I used to love watching. I loved the banter, I loved the sense of humour, I loved everything about it. And so, for me, it’s very disappointing that Gary never bothered to engage, and I say it openly. He never bothered to engage. We reached out. We reached out many times. In February, we reached out over three or four times, specifically requesting to engage with Gary, to sit down and say, ‘We understand your position. Give us the opportunity to put our case in front. At least hear us out. If you don’t agree then, that’s fine, that’s your decision, and that’s your judgement’.
“But we never got the chance. There was never the desire to listen to our part of the story.”
He went on: “The reality is, a lot of the coverage that’s come out there, the way the BBC covered the opening ceremony, the way Gary Lineker took three minutes, they never bothered to do that with any other tournament.
“They never bothered to listen to the other side, or at least present a balanced view to be able to sit down and move forward.
“So there are definitely agendas that are presented very clearly that are beyond football.”
Responding on Twitter to Al-Thawadi’s interview, Lineker wrote: “Well, this is news to me. Neither my agent nor myself received any request to engage with anyone involved with Qatar 2022. I have my weaknesses, but I’m not that rude. Very odd.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Al-Thawadi also appeared to attempt to justify denying those sporting rainbow colours from entry into World Cup matches (watch video below).
