Backlash at Rio Ferdinand after he praises Qatar in World Cup video WITHOUT mentioning controversies

Rio Ferdinand has been met with a backlash from fans for not calling out Qatar’s human rights abuses after the pundit posted a video of himself wearing a traditional Qatari headdress following the end of the World Cup.

Ferdinand praised the quality of the tournament and its fans following Argentina’s win in the final over France on Sunday. 

He also hailed Qatar’s culture and food markets he had visited during his time there.

However, the video led to some angry responses from fans, who argued he should not endorse Qatar given its anti-LGBTQ laws and human rights issues, particularly around the deaths of migrants building stadiums for the World Cup.

The former Manchester United footballer’s video prompted a backlash from some fans online

The ex-Manchester United player posted the video on Twitter with the caption ‘My final week in Qatar covering the #FIFAWorldCup2022.

‘One of the best tournaments I’ve witnessed!,’ with a link to his final vlog covering the Qatar World Cup. 

He said in the Twitter video: ‘Right guys that’s it, what a whirlwind of a month, the World Cup is over.

‘The great players on the pitch, without them this doesn’t happen. 

‘But you know what? It’s about actually being out and about, it’s about being around the culture, it’s about being in the souqs [markets], smelling the food, tasting the food. 

‘The different rituals around and the respect around making coffee – it’s crazy.

‘It’s been great here, and you know what one of the stand-out things for me, I’ve said it before, but the fans actually being together and being happy and celebrating. 

Several fans responded angrily to Ferdinand’s video on Twitter, while others were glad he had praised Qatar

‘Despair, loss, excitement, all together under one roof.

‘Sometimes you get fans going at each other from different parts of the world, this was a very unified World Cup in that sense, and that’s one of the lasting legacies and memories for me that will be of this World Cup.

‘And Argentina, you had the best fans – the best fans at this tournament was stand-out, easily Argentina. We could have been in Buenos Aires.’  

The Match of the Day pundit’s glowing review of the Qatar World Cup led to some arguing that he should have mentioned the human rights abuses that have surrounded the tournament in controversy for years.

A fan claimed online: ‘Six weeks ago you were going on about Qatar and human rights etc and [how] they should not host a World Cup.

‘It’s amazing what a hefty pay packet does for ya.’  

One Twitter user referred to the migrant workers who died building stadiums in Qatar for the tournament.

They said: ‘No mention of the dead… nice one Rio.’

Another said simply: ‘Hypocrite.’

A third user replied to Ferdinand’s tweet with a GIF captioned ‘cultural appropriation’ in response to him wearing the Arab headdress.

However, not all the responses to the video were negative, with some fans thanking Ferdinand for highlighting the good things about Qatar.

One said: ‘[You] could’ve educated Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer in the studio about these points.

‘They completely disregarded all this!’

Other Twitter users also thanked Ferdinand for sharing his vlogs during his time in Qatar for the World Cup over the last month.

Rio Ferdinand’s representatives were contacted for comment.