Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Niamh Spence

Judge Rinder slams David Beckham 'for putting money over morals' to promote Qatar World Cup

TV star Judge Rob Rinder has slammed football icon David Beckham for his involvement in supporting the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

David Beckham has struck a £10million promotional deal to promote the World Cup, despite the nation's discrimination against women and gay people.

Judge Rinder has also condemned the decision to hold the major tournament in the oppressive Middle East nation as a 'disgrace'. In an interview he's claimed that nations should not be allowed to use sporting events to 'cleanse' their reputations.

The football tournament will be held in November and December and is expected to bring thousands of football fans to the Middle East country.

David Beckham has signed a £10million promotional deal to promote Qatar ahead of the FIFA World Cup (Laurent Vu/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock)

Rob Rinder, who has appeared on programmes such as Good Morning Britain, spoke out against the football event due to Qatar's harsh laws to The Mail On Sunday.

He slammed David Beckham for signing a £10million deal, which the TV judge claimed was putting 'money before morals'. Last month, the former England captain released a promotional video describing the Middle East nation as 'perfection'.

Rinder, who is also gay, focused heavily on Qatar's treatment of migrant construction workers, thousands of whom are said to have died while building stadiums for the tournament which starts next month. The nation is also strict and has laws against homosexuality including up to three years in prison.

Judge Rob Rinder has condemned David Beckham for promoting Qatar and its 'oppressive' laws (Getty)

Speaking to The Mail On Sunday, Rinder said: "There should be basic requirements before you are entitled to [host] them, and that's not just about LGBTQ. It's about the 6,500 workers who died, it's about the fact that Beckham's daughter Harper would not be able to continue with her education [if she was Qatari] without the permission of a male relative."

The 44-year-old also continued to discuss how Qatar has abhorrent human right laws, something that is unlikely to change before the end of year sport event.

David Beckham appeared in a promotional video for Qatar last month (Corbis via Getty Images)

Rinder also highlighted how many other nations don't improve their records after staging such events, citing the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Russia hosting the last World Cup as examples.

He added: "It is tragic that we are about to have the World Cup in Qatar. We need to do the best, all of us, to highlight all of the issues I'm talking about. We can't bury our heads in the sand.

"You know this is about money, not about the purity or love of the game. What a tragic moment that is."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.