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Home / Travel

David Beckham faces backlash for promotional video about Qatar

Sarah Pollok
By Sarah Pollok
Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·
1 Sep, 2022 07:30 AM4 mins to read

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Beckham has been criticised for accepting a multi-million dollar advertising deal with Qatar's tourism body. Photo / Unsplash, Getty

Beckham has been criticised for accepting a multi-million dollar advertising deal with Qatar's tourism body. Photo / Unsplash, Getty

David Beckham has received harsh criticism from Amnesty International after accepting a £10 million ($19m) advertising deal to promote Qatar.

The football star encourages people to visit the Gulf state, describing it as "perfection" in a video produced by their tourism body.

Beckham is seen sailing on a boat, riding a motorbike and walking through a spice market before taking selfies with locals, visiting a bazaar and eating a meal.

"Qatar really is an incredible place to spend a few days on a stopover," Beckham says in a voiceover.

For a wealthy, heterosexual man visiting on holiday, Qatar probably is a great destination. However, it's far from idyllic for women, homosexuals or migrant workers living there, according to Amnesty International.

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Amidst sharing news of the £10m contract to be the face of the FIFA World Cup and Qatar, the human rights organisation accused Beckham of failing to mention the country's discriminatory culture.

Currently, it is illegal for people to be gay in Qatar, while a male guardianship system forces women to gain approval from men to marry, study or travel. More directly, 37 workers have died while constructing the country's World Cup stadiums according to reports from The Guardian.

Amnesty International's UK branch claimed Beckham should be using his global status to call out these "appalling" issues instead of ignoring them.

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"This is just the latest slick and positive video about Qatar that David Beckham has put his face to, and yet again there's no mention of the county's appalling human rights record," Felix Jakens, Amnesty International UK's head of priority campaigns, told MailOnline.

"Beckham's global fame and status are PR gold for Qatar's image, but he should be using that same unique profile to call on FIFA and the Qatari authorities to properly remedy the terrible abuses that tens of thousands of migrant workers have faced in building the infrastructure to deliver the World Cup."

While Beckham said football could be a force for good in Qatar, Jakens said it was good for their tourist industry, not human rights.

Judgment was swift and severe from the wider public too. On Twitter, many claimed his decision was unprincipled, selfish and "for the money".

David Challen, an ambassador for UK's National Centre For Domestic Violence, wrote: "Sportswashing is inherently wrong. Those who promote nations with horrific human rights records actively silence those who are discriminated against, harmed and killed, all for more money. Why does @UNICEF continue to support David Beckham making millions from promoting Qatar??"

David Beckham, self-declared feminist + @UNICEF ambassador, kicks off multi-million pound campaign to bring tourists to Qatar, describing it as an ‘incredible place’.

…aside from it being illegal to be gay + women still need permission to study or marry.https://t.co/n0vsDCZnRp

— David Challen (@David_Challen) August 30, 2022

🤡 David Beckham historically posting the Rainbow Flag on Instagram.

💥 Now the face of Qatar - where homosexuality comes with punishment of up to 3 years in prison and a fine and the possibility of death penalty for Muslims

Not that he needs the cash but £10m in the bank helps pic.twitter.com/eyxdnta7ah

— Jamie Jenkins (@statsjamie) August 30, 2022

Another person shared several images with the caption: "A tale of David Beckham's life lasting 7 short years, and £10 million quid." The pictures showed Beckham supporting LGBT rights on Instagram, a Wikipedia page about women and gay rights in Qatar and news about Beckham's multimillion-dollar deal.

A tale of David Beckham’s life lasting 7 short years, and £10 million quid. pic.twitter.com/dr82RfMrpe

— Cristo (@cristo_radio) August 30, 2022

British gay lifestyle magazine Attitude also called out Beckham for "performative allyship" earlier this year.

"David Beckham continues to keep his money just about as far as possible from where his mouth is when it comes to the LGBTQ community," the post read.

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A post shared by Attitude Magazine (@attitudemag)

The FIFA World Cup will run from November 21 to December 18. This year will be the first it is hosted by an Arab country.

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