Piers Morgan has ripped into the BBC (Picture: Vianney Le Caer/Piers Morgan Uncensored/REX/Shutterstock)
Piers Morgan has slammed the BBC for not airing the Qatar World Cup opening ceremony on its main channels
The opening ceremony, which featured a performance from BTS star Jungkook and a surprise appearance from iconic actor Morgan Freeman, was aired on the red button, on BBC iPlayer, and online on the BBC Sport website.
Viewers watching on BBC One tuned in to a discussion between presenters including Gary Lineker and Alex Scott, which focused on the criticism levelled at the country due to its human rights record.
Piers weighed in on the decision, tweeting: ‘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.
‘If they’re that appalled, they should bring home their vast army of employees & spare us this absurd hypocrisy.’
One viewer questioned: ‘Is it normal for the BBC and ITV not to show the World Cup opening ceremony?’
One more said: ‘Poor taste by the BBC to not air the opening ceremony. The World Cup is about international culture. It defeats the essence of the World Cup,’ while another added: ‘Why is there no coverage of the opening ceremony? Absolutely disgusting from BBC…’
Others agreed with the decision and speculated about the reasons behind it, with one writing: ‘I have never known the BBC to not show an opening ceremony before. It feels that they don’t want to promote the culture in Qatar because it doesn’t align with Western values and for the BBC it is only about the football and raising awareness of the human rights atrocities. Good!’
World Cup 2022: your FAQs answered
World Cup 2022: Start date, schedule, teams, kick-off times and TV
All the key dates and times for England World Cup 2022 matches
How hot will it be in Qatar and how will teams deal with the heat?
Which Premier League players will miss the World Cup with injury?
When does the Premier League resume after the World Cup?
Read the latest World Cup news on Metro.co.uk’s dedicated page.
A BBC spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘Full build up and coverage of the World Cup has been available across the BBC, including the opening ceremony on iPlayer.’
Lineker kicked off the coverage on BBC One by saying: ‘It’s the most controversial World Cup in history and a ball hasn’t even been kicked.’
Qatar was awarded the tournament in 2010 under much criticism and the competition is being played in winter for the first time, with summer temperatures in the gulf state too high for players to play in.
BTS star Jungkook performed (Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Morgan Freeman also made a surprise appearance (Picture: Michael Regan – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The country is three times smaller than Northern Ireland and reports claim thousands of migrant workers were killed during the building of the stadia, which didn’t exist a decade ago. Qatar have denied this.
Homosexuality is also illegal in the country, and women’s rights are severely limited.
In his opening monologue for the BBC’s coverage of the tournament, Lineker vowed to tackle the wider issues of holding the tournament in Qatar.
‘It’s the most controversial World Cup in history and a ball hasn’t even been kicked,’ he said
‘Ever since FIFA chose Qatar back in 2010, the smallest nation to have hosted football’s greatest competition has faced some big questions.
‘From accusations of corruption in the bidding process to the treatment of migrant workers who built the stadiums where many lost their lives.
‘Homosexuality is illegal here, women’s rights and freedom of expression are in the spotlight. Also the decision six years ago to switch the World Cup from summer to winter.
‘Against that backdrop there’s a tournament to be played, one that will be watched and enjoyed around the world. Stick to football say FIFA, well, we will, for a couple of minutes at least.’
When Lineker suggested the decision to award the World Cup to Qatar ‘felt wrong’, pundit Alan Shearer agreed and responded: ‘Every country has its own issues, including our own, and we’re not saying we’re perfect, we’re far from it.
‘We were there in 2010 and we were as surprised as anyone. First of all it was announced it was a summer World Cup with air conditioned stadiums, air conditioned fan areas.‘
‘And then all of a sudden six years later it’s then turned into a winter World Cup. Three months ago it’s then announced the first game of the tournament is moved from Monday to today [Sunday].
‘And 11 of those 22 members who had that vote for FIFA have either been sanctioned, fined or banned for life from football. Even Sepp Blatter has said it was a mistake. So that’s where we are with this World Cup.’
He branded it ‘absurd hypocrisy’.
