Piers Morgan has slammed the BBC for not airing the Qatar World Cup opening ceremony on its main channels
The opening ceremony, which featured a performance from BTS star Jungkook and a surprise appearance from iconic actor Morgan Freeman, was aired on the red button, on BBC iPlayer, and online on the BBC Sport website.
Viewers watching on BBC One tuned in to a discussion between presenters including Gary Lineker and Alex Scott, which focused on the criticism levelled at the country due to its human rights record.
Piers weighed in on the decision, tweeting: ‘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.’
One viewer questioned: ‘Is it normal for the BBC and ITV not to show the World Cup opening ceremony?’
One more said: ‘Poor taste by the BBC to not air the opening ceremony. The World Cup is about international culture. It defeats the essence of the World Cup,’ while another added: ‘Why is there no coverage of the opening ceremony? Absolutely disgusting from BBC…’
Outrageously disrespectful to Qatar that the BBC didnât broadcast the World Cup opening ceremony, and instead put out more virtue-signalling guff about how awful it is. If theyâre that appalled, they should bring home their vast army of employees & spare us this absurd hypocrisy.
Others agreed with the decision and speculated about the reasons behind it, with one writing: ‘I have never known the BBC to not show an opening ceremony before. It feels that they don’t want to promote the culture in Qatar because it doesn’t align with Western values and for the BBC it is only about the football and raising awareness of the human rights atrocities. Good!’
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