Ian Hislop destroys Gary Neville with “reputation” dig over Qatar World Cup role

Gary Neville will work for Qatari state broadcaster beIN Sports during the upcoming World Cup, with the Middle Eastern country facing huge criticism for its human rights record

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

The video will auto-play soon8Cancel

Play now

Gary Neville confronted by Hislop over Qatar World Cup

Have I Got News For You panellist Ian Hislop destroyed Gary Neville with a dig over the former Manchester United captain’s reputation.

Neville was hosting the BBC programme before jetting out to Qatar to work as a pundit on the World Cup. One of the channels he will work for is beIN Sports, who are owned by the Qatari state, which has faced huge criticism for its dreadful human rights record.

Despite those concerns, Neville will commentate for the broadcaster during the tournament this winter. And Hislop took the opportunity to have a dig at the United legend for his decision to take money from the in-the-spotlight Middle Eastern country.

The panellists were discussing the topic of members of the LGBT+ community being told they should “flex and compromise” at the Qatar World Cup by UK foreign secretary James Cleverly.

Richard Madeley said: “It’s unbelievable and it’s all about money and you’ve got mainline celebrities going over there for huge cheques. You’ve got people like Robbie [Williams] going out there to sing.

“Which I must say I’m very surprised about given all the comments that Robbie Williams has made in the past about gay rights. The fact that he’s going out there to sing is extraordinary. I don’t know what’s happened to people. And it’s not just him, the Black Eyed Peas are going, aren’t they?”

After Neville was asked if he knew Robbie Williams, Paul Merton asked him, “But you know David Beckham, don’t you? He’s going, isn’t he? How much is he being paid?”

HAVE YOUR SAY! Does Gary Neville deserve to be criticised for working for beIN Sports? Comment below.

Ian Hislop delivered a scathing dig over Neville’s reputation (

Image:

BBC)

Neville squirmed with a smile on his face and responded: “I don’t know, more than me!” The former United defender then turned to Ian Hislop and asked: “Is it coming home?”

The regular panellist quickly hit back and left the studio audience in fits of laughter by asking: “What, your reputation?”

Pressed on why he will work for beIN Sports during the controversial tournament, Neville responded: “Yeah, I’m commentating. Well, you’ve got a choice, haven’t you? My view always has been that you either highlight the issues and challenges in these countries and speak about them, or you basically don’t say anything and stay back home and don’t go. And I think we should challenge them.”

Neville has previously hit back at critics of his decision to work for beIN Sports during the tournament. Last month, he attempted to defend his move and insisted he would shine a light on Qatar’s awful human rights record.

“Qatar have had Amnesty International and the International Labour Organisation all over them for the last 10 years because of the World Cup. We either decide that we collaborate with these countries, and try and impact change through football,” he told the Daily Mail.

“Or we say we’re never going to let them play sport, we’re never going to have a World Cup there, we’re never going to allow them to compete against us because they don’t have what would be as progressive rights as they should have.

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

“When I highlight these issues, I can do so from a position whereby if I am covering eight games on beIN in a World Cup, and those issues come up or there’s an incident outside the stadium, I will highlight them. I will never shy away from it.”

Mirror Football’s top stories