Doha: The British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) decided not to air the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, which irked the fans.
It is the first time in its history that the BBC hasn’t aired the opening ceremony of the tournament. The opening ceremony and first match of the tournament were held at Al-Bayt Stadium in Doha. With a reputation for offering unmatched coverage of what is the largest sporting event in the world, millions of licence payers tuned in to watch on the BBC.
Some of the fans called out the BBC for its virtue signalling as the channel aired a show expressing concerns over Qatar’s treatment of homosexuals. British broadcaster Piers Morgan took to Twitter and expressed dismay “Outrageously disrespectful to Qatar that the BBC didn’t broadcast the World Cup opening ceremony, and instead put out more virtue-signalling guff about how awful it is.”
A few others expressed concerns over the western media’s coverage of Qatar in the build-up to the World Cup, “Is this debate truly about migrant workers’ rights and human rights, or is it that European countries and Western pundits, who view themselves as the traditional gatekeepers of global soccer, can’t stomach the idea that an Arab Middle Eastern country will host such a venerable event,” asked Ayman Mohyeldin.
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