Gary Neville
Former England footballer Gary Neville has come under fire for comparing the treatment of Qatari workers to British government measures.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said after the former England footballer attacked the UK government, football fans don’t want to hear Gary Neville discuss politics.
Speaking to ITV, where he is now a sports pundit, ahead of the World Cup final, he accused ministers of “horribly demonizing and vilifying railway workers, ambulance workers and nurses”.
He said bad working conditions should not be accepted in Qatar or any region.
He added that nurses in the UK – who are on strike – are being paid “a pittance”.
Simon Clarke, the Conservative MP, said it was “strange” to compare the two countries’ treatment of labour.
The ex-minister added: “It is absolutely ridiculous that Gary Neville has a free hand from ITV Sport to overtly politicize a major sporting event.”
Lee Anderson, another Conservative MP, described Neville’s comments as “propaganda from a millionaire’s side”.
“It looks like ITV is on my to-do list now – talk football Gary and keep your nose out of politics. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
In response to the criticism, Neville took to Twitter, describing the Conservatives as “the biggest group of charlatans to ever come to power”.
An ATV spokesperson said: “Gary Neville expressed his personal views in the context of a discussion on the treatment of workers in Qatar during a live broadcast. His views are his and we do not support them.”
Media regulator Ofcom confirmed it had received complaints about it but had not yet decided whether to investigate.
Qatar has come under scrutiny for its treatment of tens of thousands of migrant workers working to build stadiums and hotels ahead of the World Cup.
A 2021 report by Human Rights Watch said foreign workers faced “months of unpaid wages for long hours of hard work.”
According to the International Labor Organization, 50 foreign workers died, more than 50 people were injured and another 37,600 received minor injuries.
When asked about Qatar’s treatment of workers, Neville said: “It’s abhorrent and we have to hate low wages and we hate low wages, bad housing and bad working conditions.”
“This is something we can never accept in this region or any other region,” he added.
And he added: “It is worth noting that we have a current government in our country, which horribly smears railway workers, ambulance workers and nurses.”
In recent years, Neville has become an outspoken critic of the Conservative government, describing former Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a “disaster”.
He also joined the Labor Party and appeared at the party’s last annual conference but ruled out becoming a politician.
During the World Cup, as well as providing editorial services for ITV, Neville also worked for Qatar’s beIN, a decision which drew criticism.
Defending the BBC’s Have I Got News For You move, he said: ‘You have a choice – my point is you can highlight the problems and challenges in these countries and talk about them, or just say nothing and not go to those countries. villages”.
