World Cup 2022: Gary Lineker in Qatar to 'report, not support' controversial tournament

Gary Lineker will discuss the issues surrounding the World Cup and not support it on air.

There was aqueasy feeling around the tournament.

He said it was their job to report it and show people what it was about at home.

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker spoke to the sports editor of the British Broadcasting Corporation about the issues surrounding the World Cup.

I have spent most of my life talking about issues other than football, but when the football starts you tend to stop talking about it. You have to be careful when it comes to sportswashing.

Sportswashing is the act of using sport to improve reputation and project a positive image of a country, but the World Cup organizers promise openness and inclusivity.

Lineker said that he felt like we were washed in Russia after the World Cup. I think the world did not stand up to what had happened in the peninsula.

The world didn't object as much to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. You learn new things. The World Cup is in this location. We are reporting the World Cup and not supporting it. The issues will be raised and discussed.

I think it's important to discuss the various issues going on, as well as the football, regardless of whether that makes any change here.

With the start of the World Cup just two days away, Lineker said it feels like he is in a dream, adding it is very different to previous editions of the tournament.

England's Harry Kane, Wales' Gareth Bale and eight other captains of European teams will be wearing 'One Love' armbands to promote diversity and inclusion in a country where homosexuality is against the law.

Lineker says players at the World Cup can't win if they don't speak out against the country.

There is a balance between trying to change and sportswashing. Will it make a difference if we raise the issues at hand?

The football players do not get asked where the World Cup is. People say to stick to football if you want to win.

They say why aren't you speaking up if you don't speak up. We do not get this in other sports.

It's the same with discussing footballers' salaries. People talk about footballers getting paid too much, but they don't talk about movie stars or singers or Formula 1 drivers, which is an element of these working class guys. Even if it is subconsciously.

'Lack of self-awareness' from Fifa

The decision to award the World Cup to Qatar was "unfathomable" according to Lineker.

Two investigations were launched by Swiss prosecutors and the US Department of Justice in 2015, following the awarding of the World Cup to Russia and Qatar.

The two countries have always denied any wrongdoing, and both were cleared by the world governing body.

It was a mistake for the World Cup to be awarded to the Arab nation, according to Sepp Blatter.

Following the controversy surrounding the build-up to the World Cup, all 32 competing nations were told to focus on football.

Lineker said that the lack of self-awareness was the reason for the statement. Even though we felt the documentary at the time, we have all seen it now.

Most of the people who were involved in the decision to bring the World Cup here are in jail or have been kicked out of the sport's governing body. We are stuck with it, but I think we will make the most of it.

He said that the cost should not have been paid. It's something I think about when we talk about it and raise the issues on TV.

I will be watching the football match but at the same time I will be thinking about the people who have died. How can you not remember that?

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