BBC under fire after not showing World Cup opening ceremony live on TV

Responses, criticism circulate on social media featuring BBC's previous attitude regarding similar cases

ANKARA:

The BBC's decision to not air the opening ceremony of the World Cup live during main coverage on Sunday has brought criticism from many sports fans.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 opening ceremony was held at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, where African American movie star Morgan Freeman was among the guests, with Korean K-pop star Jungkook performing a mini-concert.

The BBC relegated the ceremony to the "Red Button" service and online, however, BBC One decided not to air the ceremony live but rather mentioned human rights and alleged accusations against Qatar.

"It’s the most controversial World Cup in history and a ball hasn’t even been kicked," said Lineker, a former England football captain who was among the hosts during the broadcaster's World Cup programme.

Lineker's comment was shared by many, reminding a recent remark by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, defending Qatar from what he called Western "hypocrisy" amid criticism of the Gulf country’s hosting of World Cup 2022.

"Europe should stop the criticism and focus on improving its migrants' conditions. ... What we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons," he said on Saturday.

The BBC has never boycotted a World Cup opening event until now, when it was hosted by the first Muslim Arab nation.

Shameful display by the British state mouthpiece.

Qatar should consider giving BBC the boot. 🥾💥#FIFAWorldCup #BBC #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/QGjc9i8EoX

— Robert Carter (@Bob_cart124) November 20, 2022

Meanwhile, users also accused the BBC of "double standard" on social media asking why the broadcaster did not have the same approach when the 2022 Winter Olympics took place in China and the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Outrageously disrespectful to Qatar that the BBC didn’t broadcast the World Cup opening ceremony, and instead put out more virtue-signalling guff about how awful it is. If they’re that appalled, they should bring home their vast army of employees & spare us this absurd hypocrisy.

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 20, 2022

Users also shared Daily Mirror's story — titled England's £115 ($136) Qatar World Cup shirts made by Thai factory workers paid just £1 an hour — in response to human rights allegations towards Qatar.