David Beckham finally responded to Joe Lycett regarding his multi-million Qatar World Cup ambassador role, after the comedian demanded he sever ties with the tournament.
The former England captain has been heavily criticised for his involvement in the 2022 World Cup, given Qatar’s poor human rights record.
The comedian hit the headlines during the World Cup when he issued an ultimatum to Beckham and then seemed to destroy £10,000 in a stunt to highlight the host country’s record with the LGBTQ+ community.
Despite repeated pleas, the former England footballer did not respond to the comedian ahead of the stunt.
Joe later revealed it was in fact fake cash he shredded, while the real money was donated to an LGBTQ+ charity.
Yet Joe told his 1.3 million Twitter followers David Beckham had finally issued a response as part of his special instalment of his Channel 4 show Got Your Back.
A spokesperson for Beckham has now said: “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.
"Football, the most popular sport globally, has a genuine ability to bring people together and make a real contribution to communities.
"We understand that there are different and strongly held views about engagement in the Middle East but see it as positive that debate about the key issues has been stimulated directly by the first World Cup being held in the region.
"We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy towards all people and that progress will be achieved.”
Ahead of Joe's Channel 4 special, he wrote on Twitter: "David Beckham’s team have issued my programme with an exclusive statement, which will be broadcast tonight as part of my Got Your Back special at 9pm on Channel 4.
"As far as we are aware this is the only statement he or his team have given to any outlet regarding his involvement in Qatar.
"I have been advised that legally I cannot give my opinion on it, so you’ll have to make up your own minds.
"We also speak to some LGBTQ+ football teams and Dr Nasser Mohamed, the first openly gay Qatari, who Beckham blocked on Instagram. We also reunite some of the cast of Footballers’ Wives lol.
"I’d like to thank the Got Your Back team and the team at Channel 4 for their extraordinary hard work on this project."
The special episode explored how the comedian locked horns with one of the world's most famous footballers over his controversial position as an ambassador of the 2022 tournament.
It also focused on the ‘true cost’ of the World Cup and how Lycett ‘brought the good fight to one of the UK's biggest sellers of Christmas cards’.
Ahead of the programme, the Travelman comedian gave fans a glimpse of his nerves in the run up to the big event.
In the clip, he was seen filming the ultimatum intended for Beckham as he says: “I'm giving you a choice, if you end your relationship with Qatar, I'll donate this 10 grand of my own money – that's a grand for every million you're reportedly getting – to charities that support queer people in football.
“However, if you do not, at midday next Sunday, I'll throw this money into a shredder just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup, and stream it live on a website I've registered called BendersLikeBeckham.com.
“The choice is yours. I look forward to hearing from you.”
