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

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Gary LinekerGary Lineker says Qatar 2022 feels "very different" to erstwhile World Cups
Host nation: Qatar Dates: 20 November-18 December Coverage: Live connected BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Day-by-day TV listings - Full sum details

Gary Lineker says helium is successful Qatar to "report, not support" the World Cup and volition sermon the issues surrounding the "tainted" tourney connected air.

Lineker said determination was a "queasy feeling" surrounding the tournament.

"This is our occupation to travel and study it and amusement radical what it's astir astatine location and hopefully successful a just way," helium said.

Speaking to BBC sports exertion Dan Roan, Match of the Day presenter Lineker said: "There are important issues astir this World Cup, evidently with quality rights issues, what has happened with the gathering of the stadiums and workers' rights and homophobia and assorted things they person here.

"I americium accustomed to it arsenic I've spent astir of my beingness successful the build-up to World Cups talking astir issues different than football, but erstwhile the shot starts you thin to halt talking astir it. But that is however sportswashing works truthful you person to beryllium careful."

Qatar has been accused of sportswashing - the enactment of utilizing athletics to amended estimation and task a affirmative representation of a state - but World Cup organisers person promised openness and inclusivity.

Referring to Russia's penetration of Crimea earlier the past World Cup successful 2018, Lineker added: "I felt we were sportswashed successful Russia. I don't deliberation the satellite stood up astir what had happened successful Crimea and I see ourselves successful that.

"It didn't look similar the satellite objected arsenic overmuch arsenic they person done astir Russia invading Ukraine. You larn lessons. This is wherever the World Cup is. It's present and we are present to study the World Cup and not enactment it. We volition rise the issues and speech astir them.

"Whether that makes immoderate alteration here, I fishy it won't, but I deliberation it's important to speech astir the assorted issues going on, arsenic good arsenic the football."

Lineker arrived successful Qatar connected Friday and said it feels "almost surreal" with the commencement of the World Cup conscionable 2 days away, adding it is "very different" to erstwhile editions of the tournament.

Peaceful protests person been planned by immoderate players, portion England's Harry Kane, Wales' Gareth Bale and 8 different captains of European teams volition beryllium wearing 'One Love' armbands, to beforehand diverseness and inclusion successful a state wherever homosexuality is illegal.

But Lineker says players astatine the World Cup "can't win" whether they take to talk retired against Qatar oregon not.

"It's a delicate equilibrium betwixt sportswashing and trying to marque change. We volition rise the issues astatine manus but volition it truly marque a difference?" helium said.

"We don't and the footballers don't get asked wherever the World Cup is. Footballers tin ne'er win, if you talk up and marque a stand, radical accidental instrumentality to football.

"If you don't accidental anything, they accidental wherefore aren't you speaking up? And we don't needfully get this successful different sports.

"I cognize it's planetary but it's the aforesaid with talking astir footballers' salaries. People ever speech astir footballers getting paid excessively overmuch but they don't speech astir movie stars oregon singers oregon golfers oregon Formula 1 drivers and I deliberation it's an constituent of these moving people lads are a spot supra their station. Even if it's subconscious."

'Lack of self-awareness' from Fifa

Qatar was awarded the World Cup successful 2010, a determination which Lineker says was "unfathomable".

The determination to grant the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar respectively has been dogged by accusations of wide corruption, with 2 investigations launched by Swiss prosecutors and the US Department of Justice successful 2015.

Qatar and Russia person ever denied immoderate wrongdoing, and some were efficaciously cleared by Fifa's ain probe successful 2017.

At the time, then-Fifa president Sepp Blatter supported the bid, but present says it was a "mistake" to grant the World Cup to the Arab nation.

Earlier successful November, Fifa wrote to each 32 competing nations telling them to "now absorption connected the football" pursuing the arguable build-up.

"That was a existent deficiency of self-awareness from Fifa to accidental that," said Lineker. "We person each seen the documentaries now, adjacent though we felt it astatine the time.

"Most of the radical who were progressive successful the determination to bring the World Cup present are successful jailhouse oregon expelled from Fifa oregon fined oregon banned truthful we each know. We are stuck with it but I conjecture we volition effort and marque the astir of it."

He added: "It has travel astatine a outgo that shouldn't person been paid. It's connected my caput erstwhile we speech astir it and rise the issues, which we volition connected the television.

"When determination is simply a shot lucifer being played, I volition beryllium watching the shot lucifer but astatine the aforesaid clip our thoughts volition beryllium with those who person mislaid their lives. How tin you hide that?"

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