Last week, the satirical British quiz show Have I Got News for You turned its focus to the soccer World Cup taking place in Qatar from November 20. At one point, panelist and longtime Private Eye editor Ian Hislop attempted to demonstrate the difficulty in commentating on a match in a country that has such a stunningly bad reputation. “And it’s the kickoff here in this appalling country with a terrible human-rights record,” he muttered. “Honestly the amount of immigrant workers who have died, it’s a shocker … Ooh, it’s a goal!”
Just to compound things, this commentary was directed at the episode’s guest host, former player Gary Neville, a man who is going to be paid by the Qatari state-run media to commentate on matches during the competition. It was a brief exchange, but a perfect illustration of how the tournament looks set to be swallowed whole by controversy.
