To me, Becks wasn’t just an ally – he was the ally (Picture: KARIM JAAFAR / AFP via Getty Images)

To say that I was a huge football fan growing up might be a stretch. 

I was unbeatable at Fifa ’98, sure, and I loved attending matches with my dad, but in my heart I just didn’t have that innate love for the game.

I did have that innate love for David Beckham, however. And not because of the obvious – the hair slicked back with Brylcreem, the tattoos and smile that until this year made my knees tremble.

It was because when I was a child, still living with the secret that I was gay, I knew that no matter what any of the kids at school said about me or to me, Becks had my back. 

Twenty years ago, when asked about being fancied by gay men around the world, he said he was flattered, and ‘comfortable with it.’

Of course, today, any other answer would be alarming, but back then he was unique.

That’s why his dealings with Qatar, and his response to criticism over it, are so disappointing. 

When he wore that sarong in 1998, I spent the next summer in one (Picture: Adam Miller)

Growing up in the late 90s and early 00s, I’d never heard a straight male celebrity, let alone a Premier League footballer, talk about the gay community with any admiration.

Suddenly it wasn’t weird to be attracted to straight men, and straight men didn’t need to feel threatened because they were being crushed on by us.

And then in 2002, Beckham became the first footballer to be on the cover of Attitude magazine.

It wasn’t just a landmark moment for the LGBTQ+ community, it was a much-needed bridge between gay men and straight men who might otherwise not have crossed it to find some common ground.

To me, Becks wasn’t just an ally – he was the ally.

When he wore that sarong in 1998, I spent the next summer in one, and didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought. How I wish I still had that confidence today…

So to say that the LGBTQ+ community feels hurt and betrayed by Beckham’s reported £10million deal with Qatar, where it is imprisonable to be gay – or potentially even punishable by death if you are Muslim – to promote the World Cup is a huge understatement.

It’s also why Joe Lycett’s headline-grabbing stunt was so necessary, and so powerful.

For anyone unfamiliar with said stunt, Lycett essentially attempted to blackmail Beckham into giving up his contract with Qatar by threatening to shred £10,000 of his own money, which would otherwise be donated to charities which support LGBTQ+ people.

In it he noted Beckham’s history with the LGBTQ+ community, which has benefited the football legend hugely, and that he married a Spice Girl, which Lycett said was ‘the gayest thing’ anyone could do.

In the end, after Lycett revealed he hadn’t really shredded money, Beckham’s team finally offered a response, which was read out during Lycett’s Got Your Own Back on Thursday night. 

The comedian revaled the response he’d received from Beckham’s team in Joe Lycett vs David Beckham: A Got Your Back Christmas Special (Picture: Joe Lycett)

It read: ‘David has been involved in a number of World Cups and other major international tournaments both as a player and an ambassador and he has always believed that sport has the power to be a force for good in the world.

‘We understand that there are different and strongly held views about engagement in the Middle East but see it as a positive that debate about the key issues has been stimulated directly by the first World Cup being held in the region.

‘Football, the most popular sport globally, has a genuine ability to bring people together and make a real contribution to communities.

‘We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy towards all people and that progress will be achieved.’

Honestly, Beckham would have caused less offence if he had just stayed quiet.

There’s literally zero reference to the LGBTQ+ community, the upset his enormous deal has caused, or the absolutely terrifying human rights record of Qatar.

Lycett told viewers he’d been legally advised not share his thoughts on the statement but he did stress to his audience that being an LGBTQ+ ally isn’t ‘just for a Christmas special’ and it is something that should be life-changing, and subsequently sometimes you might have to face the consequences of being a vocal and effective supporter. 

That could be not accepting £10million when you are already worth an estimated £380m, or it could be risking getting a yellow card for wearing a rainbow armband in a match you won 6-2 anyway. 

Do I think David Beckham is a homophobe? No, absolutely not.

After all, he didn’t just marry any Spice Girl – after the departure of Ginger, Posh was easily the gayest Spice Girl.

I’d like to believe that when he spoke up for the LGBTQ+ community, back when so few others would, he meant every word.

Sadly, while he might not be homophobic, he is arguably greedy beyond comprehension, prepared to put his already unfathomable bank balance before his principles.

But I have a warning for people like Beckham – if you want to be known as an ally, do it, don’t just say it. 

Don’t be complicit in allowing hate, or even death towards the LGBTQ+ community.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that, just like Lycett, I am really crushed to think that the person I looked up to might not have been the man I thought he was at all.

It’s even more disheartening that he won’t even address us, our grief, our ongoing injustice across the world or, to the best of our knowledge, publicly donate a penny of this reported £10million to LGBTQ+ causes.

But 20 years on, that little boy rocking the sarong has braver allies to look up to today.

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While David Beckham might not be homophobic, he is arguably greedy beyond comprehension.