Richard Keys has accused his football broadcasting rival Gary Lineker of hypocrisy over the BBC presenter’s accommodation in Qatar for the World Cup.
Lineker has been one of the most outspoken critics of Qatar and used the BBC’s introduction to the tournament to highlight the country’s human rights issues and treatment of LGBTQ+ people. The presenter has explained his stance on the World Cup hosts, saying the BBC’s coverage has been influenced by perceived mistakes at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
The 62-year-old has come under fire from sections of the media for his approach, with his previous work for Qatari broadcaster beIN SPORTS called into question. The Mail has now published an article claiming Lineker and the BBC punditry team are staying at a £2,500-a-night apartment in Doha on public money.
Lineker hit back at the article by posting a screenshot alongside a strong rebuttal of its claims, insisting the accommodation "cost BBC a small fraction of that price" and adding "the landscaped terrace is basically a small bush."
He continued: “We’re surrounded by motorways in the middle of nowhere. Lots of Brits live in the building." Lineker then tweeted out a short clip showing the inside of his room in Qatar, in an attempt to downplay suggestions his accommodation was luxurious in any way.
Keys has worked for beIN SPORTS and lived in Qatar since June 2013 following his sacking by Sky Sports amid a sexism row. He has frequently pushed back against what he sees as an anti-Qatar agenda in the western media.
“Wow. Lovely. I wonder who built these?” he tweeted alongside a screenshot of the article, referring to the apartments Lineker and his colleagues are staying in.
He then quote-tweeted the video of Lineker’s room, adding: “Must be nice to be in the top 1% of the world’s population. The other 99% would call this luxury” with a shrugging emoji.
Speaking in an interview before the tournament, Lineker tried to explain why he would travel to Qatar to cover the World Cup, in spite of the host country’s poor human rights record.
“I’m a little queasy about it,” he said. “The human rights, the deaths building the stadiums, the homophobia in their laws, none of it sits right. What separates this one from the others is we know it’s corrupt, it has now been proven. Most of the FIFA committee are either in jail, have been banned from football or fined.”
He added: “We’re going there to broadcast it – journalists are going too but we’re there to report on it not support it. We’re not cheerleaders for it and that’s an important thing.”
