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British soccer icon and BBC commentator Gary Lineker is under fire for criticizing the selection of the United States to host the 2026 World Cup because the U.S. is "extraordinarily racist."
Not everyone disagrees with him, of course.
Lineker's comments came during a discussion on the podcast "The News Agents" in which he was also critical of Qatar being chosen to host this year's World Cup amid the country's virulent homophobia and widespread human rights abuses.
Speaking with podcast host Emily Maitlis, Lineker expressed his dismay that between the current tournament and 2026's, the World Cup will have been hosted in what he sees as two consecutive bigoted and inhospitable countries.
\u201c\u201cWe\u2019re off to America in four years time, an extraordinarily racist country.\u201d\n\n@garylineker says the \u2018corruption\u2019 of the Qatari bid was his primary grievance, pointing out \u2018every country, including our own, has got issues\u2019 with regards to human rights.\n\nListen on @globalplayer.\u201d— The News Agents (@The News Agents) 1671018561
Lineker began his comments by calling out the appalling human rights abuses that occurred in Qatar during the construction of the stadium where the World Cup is currently being held, along with Qatar's issues with LGBTQ and women's rights.
He told Maitlis:
"We pointed facts out at the beginning of the tournament; those facts remain. So, lots of people were killed doing the stadiums. Yes, the stadiums are extraordinary, but at a great price."
"Homophobia is an issue here, women’s rights are a little bit of an issue here.”
He then called out the US's problems with racism.
“And we’re off to America in four years’ time... obviously America’s an extraordinarily racist country.”
The US's issues with racism, police brutality, and rapidly ascendant white nationalism are frequently covered in international news and have shocked the world in recent years, with issues like the 2020 murder of George Floyd sparking worldwide protests.
Lineker did concede that his home country of the United Kingdom is not without its own problems, telling Maitlis that "pretty much every country, including our own, has got issues."
On Twitter, Lineker's comments left a bad taste in many people's mouths, especially given the UK's own reputation for racism
\u201cThen stay the f**k away from this country in 2026.\u201d— Agent Max Remington, Republic Loyalist (@Agent Max Remington, Republic Loyalist) 1671065892
\u201cThen stay the f**k away from this country in 2026.\u201d— Agent Max Remington, Republic Loyalist (@Agent Max Remington, Republic Loyalist) 1671065892
\u201c@Independent_ie The English will fit in well.\u201d— Independent.ie (@Independent.ie) 1671032700
\u201c@TimJGraham @redsteeze I\u2019ve been hearing a lot lately that racism is so prevalent in the U.K. that a member of the Royal Family had to move to the U.S. to escape it.\u201d— Tim Graham (@Tim Graham) 1671029402
\u201can englishman calling america a racist country only makes sense if he's insinuating america is not quite racist enough to meet english standards of racism\n\nit's like in "inglourious basterds" when aldo raine asks if hugo stiglitz wants to go pro at killing nazis except for racism\u201d— liam (@liam) 1671026092
\u201c@TimJGraham @redsteeze As an American, this hurts.\u201d— Tim Graham (@Tim Graham) 1671029402
But not everyone disagreed with his take.
\u201cHarsh but true\u201d— Regulus the Scrimblo \ud83c\udf84 (@Regulus the Scrimblo \ud83c\udf84) 1671026610
\u201cNo lies detected\u201d— Uncle that works at Nintendo (@Uncle that works at Nintendo) 1671025952
\u201c@NileGardiner @GaryLineker Fancy calling the nation of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow, segregation, the assassination of Civil Rights leaders and the murder of black men in police custody racist.\n\nHow did he come to that conclusion?\u201d— Nile Gardiner (@Nile Gardiner) 1670971590
\u201c@Iromg @GaryLineker Care to offer a rebuttal? Frankly there are so many reasons u can point to in support of Garys comments, from incarceration and unemployment rates to police stops & college enrolment. I know ur grift means u have to disagree that racism exists but what do u say to the facts\u201d— Mike Graham \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@Mike Graham \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7) 1671014175
Lineker's call-outs of Qatar's human rights abuses have also landed him in hot water, angering the head of the country's World Cup committee Hassan Al-Thawadi, who called the BBC's coverage "very racist" in response.
He has also claimed that Lineker will not take his calls, but Lineker says none have been received.