Controversial television personality Piers Morgan has called for politics and virtue-signally to be left out of football ahead of the Qatar World Cup.
The British broadcaster penned a column for The Sun in which he claimed multiple countries had human rights issues, not just Qatar.
He called on the players who weren’t happy to keep the politics out of the World Cup to simply not attend the tournament.
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The 2022 edition of the FIFA World Cup has been subject to controversy and criticism since Qatar was chosen as the host nation back in 2010.
The country’s mistreatment of migrant workers and their criminalisation of same-sex relationships have long been cause for concern by both players and fans.
However, for Piers, he just wants to ‘enjoy the football’.
He said: “But I can’t be the only one wishing we could just keep all the politics and virtue-signalling out of it so we can just enjoy the football.
“The time for proper serious debate about Qatar’s suitability to host the tournament was surely during the bidding process twelve years ago, not three weeks before it starts.
“And if the argument against them running it is that they have a poor human rights record, which is an undeniable fact, then what about the other 31 countries taking part?”
Morgan went on to note countries such as Senegal, Morocco, and Tunisia where it is currently illegal to be homosexual.
He also pointed out poor human rights records in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, and Serbia.
Last week, the Australian football team became the first and only FIFA World Cup team to address the host nation's human rights abuses as well as its stance on the LGBTQIA+ community.
In a video posted online, the players came together in unity and voiced their concerns with Qatar ahead of this year's World Cup.
However, Morgan slammed the video as ‘virtue signalling’, as the players hadn’t actually boycotted the tournament.
Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane declared he would be wearing a OneLove anti-discrimination armband.
Whilst Ukraine has called for Iran to be banned from taking part due to reportedly supplying Russia with military weapons and their own human rights violations that are currently being domestically protested.
However, for Piers, it all means nothing if these protests don’t affect ‘any change’.
He added: “If footballers are really that offended by Qatar’s human rights failings, then they shouldn’t go and play in the World Cup.
“It’s all very well wearing armbands or issuing critical videos, but if you still go then you’re just dabbling in pointless virtue-signalling that will have zero impact on effecting any change.”
Topics: Football, Qatar, Football World Cup, Australia, Harry Kane, Ukraine
Jayden Collins