Gay icon David Beckham given World Cup 2022 ultimatum

Joe Lycett, comedian and television presenter, has called on footballing superstar David Beckham to cancel his contract with the Qatar World Cup organisers in a protest against the anti-LGBT+ stance in the country.

Beckham asked to cancel World Cup 2022 contract

The contract the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and LA Galaxy player has to appear as a promoter is believed to be worth over $10 million. Despite many stars of the game also taking part in the global event, Beckham, who is already seen as a gay icon having posed for several well-known gay magazines, is seen by Lycett as the one to be the example for others to follow.

Lycett has said that if the Inter Miami owner steps away from the World Cup project, he will give £10k ($11.8k) to LGBT+ football charities. If Beckham does not, he will shred the money publicly before the opening ceremony.

You can watch the full ultimatum in Lycett’s tweet below.

Lycett’s emotional challenge is not the first time that Beckham’s situation has been mentioned. Just last week an interview in GQ magazine asked similar questions.

“I must continue to ask why David Beckham - such a proud advocate for #LGBT rights earlier in his career - has nothing to say publicly about this subject in the context of Qatar now that he is an ambassador for this tournament,” said Musa Okwonga in his essay about the World Cup.

Beckham had initially said that he was “disgusted” by Qatar winning the 2022 World Cup hosting rights. Back then he was part of the committee trying to win the competition for England. How times have cher, ching, ching, changed...