David Beckham breaks silence on Joe Lycett's criticism over Qatar World Cup

Many have criticised the weak response given by Beckham and his team, saying that it was "as tone deaf as you expect.”

Top News . Written by Beatrice Fanucci.

The image shows David Beckham standing with his arms folded as he watches a football match during the Qatar World Cup.
Image: @ImMayankB via Twitter

David Beckham has released a response to queer comedian Joe Lycett after he criticised the footballer’s role at the Qatar World Cup. Fans have labeled the statement a ‘cop out’, and said that the star failed to properly address the issue.

The statement in question was issued by a spokesperson for the Englishman in reference to his ambassadorship of the ongoing tournament in Qatar. With the increased attention due to the World Cup in recent months, the Gulf country has been at the centre of an international debate over its treatment of some minority groups, especially women, LGBTQ+ people and migrant workers.

Queer comedian Joe Lycett was one of the former footballer’s most outspoken critics, to the point that earlier in November, he published a video in which he challenged Beckham to terminate his partnership with the Qatar World Cup.

He said that if Beckham pulled out of the deal, he would donate £10,000 to LGBTQ+ charities, otherwise he would shred the money. Having received no response from the star, Lycett published another video in which he appeared to be destroying the money, but later explained that the cash was fake and he had already donated the £10,000.

A response from Beckham surrounding his support of the tournament in Qatar has finally arrived and it was aired in a special edition of Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back, on Channel 4 on Thursday, December 15. Lycett himself read the statement in front of the camera, which said: “David has been involved in a number of World Cups and other major international tournaments both as a player and an ambassador and he’s always believed that sport has the power to be a force for good in the world.”

The statement continued by describing football as a sport that “has a genuine ability to bring people together and make a real contribution to communities” and clarified that Beckham and his team “understand that there are different and strongly held views about engagement in the Middle East but see it as positive that debate about the key issues has been stimulated directly by the first World Cup being held in the region.”

“We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy towards all people and that progress will be achieved,” the statement concluded.

Many of the people who watched the programme were not impressed with these words, labelling them a ‘cop out’ to the issues that were raised. “David Beckham’s spokesperson’s response to Joe and the LGBTQ+ is as tone deaf as you expect,” stated one Twitter user.

“The fact there isn’t any direct response from David Beckham just shows he doesn’t care, he is just about his wallet,” read another tweet.

Joe Lycett concluded the special with his own statement on the issue, saying: “I want to talk about allies, particularly companies and celebrities who like to think they are our allies to our community, who are happy to slap a rainbow on when it doesn’t cost them anything but looked the other way when it came to the World Cup.

“What I say is we need allies, but allies we can rely on not to run away the moment it looks difficult or when the first yellow card is threatened,” he continued. “We need everyone to be our allies and we need them to remember that being an ally is for life not just for Christmas specials.”

During the show, the comedian also spoke to Nasser Mohamed, thought to be the first openly gay Qatari. “I was cut off by my family, and the few friends I have can’t publicly be my friends,” he told Lycett. “I know that the LGBT issues in Qatar are awful, I know that they’re life-threatening.”

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