Panelist rips apart Gary Neville with ‘reputation’ dig over FIFA World Cup duties in Qatar
Manchester United legend Gary Neville was torn apart while hosting a comedy panel show over his punditry work at the FIFA World Cup.
Neville hosted the long-running Have I Got News For You topical comedy show and was quizzed by newspaper editor and comedian Ian Hislop. He has been a vocal supporter of left-wing politics and has been outspoken on plenty of political issues in recent years.
Well done @GNev2 hosting #hignfy went out of his comfort zone & took a few blows but was still standing by the end!
However, the former full-back will be working for Qatari company beIN Sports at the FIFA World Cup, despite the nation's abhorrent human rights record. The panel were discussing the issue of LGBTQ+ supporters in Qatar, at which point Hislop took a dig at Neville.
The pundit asked Hislop: 'Is it coming home?' To which the regular panelist replied (as per The Mirror):
"What, your reputation?"
Neville was then pressed on why he would be taking the money from Qatar at the FIFA World Cup, to which he replied:
"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."
Hislop was unimpressed with the defense as he responded (per The Mail):
"The other option is you stay at home and highlight the abuses. You don't have to take the Qataris' money. It's just not a very good defence."
A very awkward moment for Gary Neville on #HIGNFY as Ian Hislop points out he could criticise Qatar's human rights from home without taking their money.
[Via BBC] https://t.co/t81zrpUhOy
Gary Neville defends stance on working at FIFA World Cup in Qatar
Neville has been heavily criticized for accepting his punditry role for the Qatari network. However, the former England defender believes the FIFA World Cup can bring some good.
The pundit defended his stance by telling The Mail:
"We (can) 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."
He added:
"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."
Neville claimed that he will continue to highlight the issues even while working at the FIFA World Cup, as he said:
"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."
Must watch if you want to watch someone well out of their comfort zone , sweating , dry mouth and getting caught with a few punches on the face on Qatar off Ian Hislop 😂😂 twitter.com/metro_ents/sta…