World Cup: Gary Neville defends decision to work for beIN Sports during Qatar tournament

Gary Neville has suggested Qatar is being treated more harshly than Saudi Arabia and the UAE when it comes to criticizing their human rights record, while again launching a passionate defense of his decision to work for a state broadcaster during the World Cup.

The former Manchester United and England defender has been criticized on social media for agreeing to be an expert for beIN SPORTS during the tournament.

Qatar has been heavily criticized for its stance on human rights, especially its stance on women and homosexuals, in the run-up to the World Cup.

The nation, which criminalizes homosexuality, is also under heavy scrutiny from human rights groups over the treatment of migrant workers.

Some have criticized Neville on Twitter for his decision, but the expert, 47, has maintained that he will “never shy away” from raising controversial issues, even when working for beIN.

Neville said human rights records in the UAE and Saudi Arabia – both of which are heavily involved in football through their ownership of Manchester City and Newcastle respectively – were ‘worse’, but the two countries appear to be avoiding the level of scrutiny and criticism targeted on Qatar.

“We’re talking about Man City like it’s a golden ticket – they’re owned by Abu Dhabi, who have huge problems with women’s rights, workers’ rights, LGBTQ rights…exactly the same, in fact worse, than Qatar,” Neville, spokesperson for to The Overlap Live show next month, told Sports post.

“Qatar has been taking over Amnesty International and the International Labor Organization for the past 10 years because of the World Cup.

‘Saudi Arabia has come to our country to own Newcastle and they have terrible human rights issues there – the journalist who was murdered there a few years ago for example – and people work for them in this country.

“We are deciding whether to work with these countries in the Middle East – we as the UK government have sold around £40bn worth of arms in the last 10 years to Middle Eastern countries, they own half of London and probably donate to the conservative party.

“We either decide that we will work with these countries and try to bring about change through football – and that’s what I think we should always do – or we say we’ll never let them play, we never will. ” a World Cup there, we will never allow them to compete against us because they don’t have the progressive rights they should have.

“That’s the reality I’m facing. There is no one I think wants workers’ rights to be better than me, there is no one who wants more than me for women’s rights, equality or diversity, I absolutely believe in it.’

Neville promised he would continue to speak out on such issues during the World Cup, where he will also work for ITV, and said he was not bothered by the criticism he received.

“If I emphasize these issues, I can do so from a position where if I play eight games on beIN in a World Cup, and those issues come up or there’s an incident outside the stadium, I’ll highlight them, as I will on ITV, as I will on my own channels. I will never shy away from it,” he said.

“What’s going to get really interesting are English players and English pundits who have had ambassadorial roles with your Newcastle or Manchester City, or played for those clubs owned by Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

“Because the Kafala system, where they take your passport from you, is something that has now been abolished in Qatar – where progress has been made because of the control of the World Cup that is there – but these systems still exist in Abu Dhabi, in Dubai and all these places we often come on holiday.

“The way construction workers and hospitality workers are treated in Qatar is not good enough and not good at all. So for me I can understand where the criticism is coming from because I put myself there and frankly I always try to defend the rights of people in this country and I will continue to do that through football in different countries.

“It doesn’t bother me in any way, shape or form, because I feel like I’m in a pretty consistent and strong position in it.”

Neville also jumped in defense of his former teammate David Beckham. The former England star who has a £10m deal to become an ambassador for the tournament has been at the center of widespread criticism, revealed by the Mail on Sunday.

‘[People forget] Beckham went on to play for Qatar-owned PSG,” he said.

“To be fair, Beckham has a relationship with the Qataris through his relationship with PSG, and the work he has done to strengthen our country around the world is probably unparalleled in the last five to ten years.”

Neville was recently involved in a spirited social media debate with Adam Brooks, a self-described tax collector and social commentator, about his work in Qatar.

Brooks asked him if he… he felt uncomfortable. Neville took the bait and insisted, “I’m not clumsy. That is the position that the PvdA MPs should adopt.

‘Are you one of those people who thinks everyone should be the same on the same team? I am not.

“I go there and enjoy the football and talk about all the problems that a World Cup in the Middle East and Qatar faces.”

When another Twitter user came in to ask if his pay helped him make his decision to go, Neville shot back: “If you think I make decisions based on money, you’re wrong, but I’m happy.” that you participate!

“The money doesn’t matter to me at all.”

When this was followed up with a suggestion to give his wages to charity, Marcel seemed to rule it out – based on his generosity so far this year.

He stated: ‘I have donated over £250,000 to charity in the last 12 months. You?’

The Overlap Live – featuring Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane – will meet OVO Arena Wembley on Thursday, November 10 for its biggest live show ever.

For tickets and more information, visit www.cuffeandtaylor.com