Rosie51
Oh I agree it's his money to do with as he wishes.
I'm just not comfortable with the blackmail aspect. I wish DB hadn't taken the money to promote them, it's not as if he needs another £10 million, but then again I would have preferred our whole England team had shown some principles and refused to take part in the tournament. Every single person that participates whether in the audience or on the pitch is supporting Qatar's world cup. Sporting boycotts are effective, and this would have been huge had many countries joined in.
Yes, I agree that this has shown FIFA in a very bad light. There should have been a sporting boycott, but IMO it should have been led from above, not left to individual players to make the decision about whether to play. They only have a small window of opportunity to play at this level, and I could understand if some of them felt they had to. Ambassadors are a different matter though - I have no patience with that.
I'm not sure that the stunt was blackmail, although I can see that it came close. Beckham could have stepped down (I assume - he may have been tied into a contract with penalty clauses) or offered to match the money by paying to gay charities himself. Or even made a grander gesture and offered to give his fee instead. Obviously he shouldn't have to, but it would have changed the narrative to how generous he was and secured his ongoing status as a gay icon.
