David Beckham Criticized For Promotional Work Ahead Of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Forgetting LGBT Community

Former star footballer David Beckham's promotional work for 2022 Qatar World Cup is allegedly “stamping out hope” for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the country.

The accusation was made by Dr Nas Mohamed, who became the first person in Qatar to publicly come out as gay. Dr Mohamed from Qatar where homosexuality is illegal, wrote an open letter to the former England captain. He claimed that Beckham was guilty of “taking money and looking the other way” because of his PR efforts for Doha, reported Independent.

Mohamed also pleaded with the celebrity to use his “voice” and to “not be silent towards injustice." The physician wrote to the former footballer in the letter saying, “You are stamping out hope for the LGBT community in Qatar." He wrote that Beckham is sending a message that there is truly no chance for the people of the LGBT community to "escape our current persecution and live freely.” He added this "whitewashing of the persecution of the LGBT community in Qatar does not just erase the pain of those suffering from it."

Mohamed added that it also "undermines their pleas for asylum when they do escape. After all, if David Beckham describes Qatar as ‘perfection’, how bad could it really be?”

He also claimed that Beckham's PR work for Qatar helps deliver “an inaccurate representation” of life in Doha. It “ignores the lived experience of the LGBT community," and that Qatar’s LGBT community "lives in fear for their lives." He wrote that LGBT people in Qatar are at an "increased risk of social rejection, honor killings, ‘conversion therapy’ and much more." He went on to ask Beckham, who played at three World Cup finals for England, to use his platform to "amplify our voices and highlight that we are not okay."

The former footballer has reportedly been paid millions to publicize Qatar and the World Cup, which begins on Nov. 20, Daily Mail reported. Beckham recently featured in a video riding a motorbike around the Qatari capital, Doha. He was seen visiting museums and sampling local food markets in the clip. He promoted the country as an ideal “stopover” location.