BBC shoot down claims Rio Ferdinand was ‘dropped’ from World Cup clash for Ashley Williams | Football | Sport
The BBC have denied ‘categorically untrue’ rumours that Rio Ferdinand was overlooked for the World Cup opener between Qatar and Ecuador. The former Manchester United defender was reportedly ‘dropped’ for the match due to his links with Saudia Arabia, it had been claimed earlier this week.
The ex-England defender was said to be due to feature alongside Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Alex Scott in the studio before Ashley Williams was quickly drafted in to replace him at the Al Bayt Stadium.
The Mail claimed the BBC were forced to cut him from their coverage for the first game of the World Cup due to his links to Saudi Arabia amid fears they would be accused of hypocrisy when discussing Qatar’s human rights record.
However, the BBC have now shot down those claims. Responding to the reports, a BBC spokesperson said: “This is categorically untrue. It was important to represent the home nations within the opening show and these were the key considerations for the line-up chosen, any suggestion otherwise is completely false.”
The BBC’s coverage for the opener was dominated by political issues as Lineker shone a light on the ethical issues plaguing and overshadowing the tournament in the Middle East.
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He tweeted: “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.”
After the opening monologue, presenter Lineker later described the tournament as “the most controversial World Cup in history”.
The coverage also included discussion centred around Qatar’s discriminatory LGBTQ+ laws.
Lineker later defended the BBC’s decision not to show the opening ceremony during their coverage following the backlash.
He tweeted: “It was shown live in its entirety on @BBCiplayer, BBC Sport website and red button. The timing of the opening ceremony was changed to an earlier time very recently and WSL was already confirmed on @bbcone. If you wanted to watch it, you could.”
A BBC statement later said: “Full build up and coverage of the World Cup has been available across the BBC, including the opening ceremony on iPlayer.”
Argentina and Frace face off in Sunday’s final at the Lusail Stadium in Doha.
