The World Cup and virtue-signalling
by David Robertson, Christian Today:
[…] Gay rights. Yes, it is true that homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, as it is in another 68 countries in the world – and a further 128 do not allow same sex ‘marriage’. Are we going to boycott all of them? Why do we think that Western countries have the right to impose our un-Christian cultural values on the rest of the world? Especially when these ‘values’ have no biblical warrant? Apart from the cultural imperialism, what sticks in my throat is the hypocrisy.
If there was a World Cup for virtue signalling, the England team would win hands down. The picture of English players ‘taking the knee’ ostensibly for an African American, whilst facing an American team containing several African Americans who were all standing – was cringeworthy. The England manager announced that his players would bravely defy FIFA and wear a rainbow ‘One Love’ armband to show their support for the LGBTQI cause. But facing the threat of a booking, they backed down. It’s hardly the stuff of martyrs!
And it gets worse with the commentators. Gary Lineker who is never backward in telling us all how we should live, gave a dreary monologue about gay rights before the opening game of the World Cup. What he neglected to mention is that he was paid £1.6 million by Qatar for fronting their football coverage on Al Jazeera for four years. I suspect they were no more ‘enlightened’ 10 years ago. And he is still there in Qatar – with the BBC.
Even the normally sensible Alan Shearer joined in the ‘aren’t we Westerners more enlightened than the Arabs’ rants. But Mr Shearer also exults in the fact that his beloved Newcastle are now serious challengers in the English Premier League – thanks to so much Saudi Arabian money being spent on them that their new nickname is ‘Al -Toon’! If you are going to condemn Qatar perhaps you should also condemn Saudi Arabia – and boycott Al-Toon?
In fact if we were going to boycott all teams funded with dodgy money, shady companies and unpleasant rulers, which English Premier League team would be left? Let him who is without sin kick the first football!
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