‘A big, big mistake’: Cantona slams Beckham for supporting Qatar World Cup

That’s according to Beckham’s former team-mate, Eric Cantona, who has vowed not to watch the tournament this winter.

The World Cup is being taken to the middle-east for the first time in controversial fashion.

The tournament has been moved from summer to winter to combat the weather conditions but it’s Qatar’s human rights record that angers Cantona most.

The country has been accused of trying to use the World Cup to ‘sportswash’ their image and Beckham has been paid £10m to promote tourism and culture in the region.

But Cantona says his agreement to become a ‘face of the tournament’ was a ‘big, big mistake’.

‘I would not do it at all. I do completely the opposite. In January 2022, I started to say that. Maybe I was the first one,’ Cantona told the Athletic.

‘But I am free to do it. And of course, an ex-player paid to do this kind of thing… It could be they don’t know what has happened there. Or, if they know it, I think they did wrong. I think they made a big mistake. A big, big mistake.’

‘If you have a player who says, “I will boycott the World Cup”, you say, “Bravo”. But you cannot condemn a 20-year-old player, who has a 10-year career, who lives in a world surrounded by people from football 24 hours per day.

‘But do speak about the federations, speak about the politicians, who have the power to say, “No, we do not go to the World Cup”. 

‘We cannot be disappointed if players don’t want to boycott the World Cup, because at the top, the politicians, the presidents, the federations, the ministers… they have the power to boycott it.’ 

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