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Gary Neville aimed a brutal dig at Prince William while on punditry duty during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Prince, who is the president of the English FA, has already announced that he will not be attending the tournament in Qatar. But Neville was clearly unimpressed with the heir to the British throne, as he referenced the alleged £2.6 million donation his father King Charles III took from a Qatari politician (according to The Guardian).
Speaking on ITV, the former Manchester United and England right-back proclaimed (as quoted by the Express):
"If Prince William doesn’t want to come to this tournament but he’s okay with not coming to the tournament but he’s okay with his father taking charitable donations - that’s fine. If the MPs don’t want to come over but are happy to take money from them in our country for their political parties that’s fine with me, but I see it as footballers and ex-footballers coming under criticism."
Gary Neville defends decision to work at 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
Neville has been a vocal critic of moral issues in recent years, which is why many were confused as to why he has gone to work for the Qatari broadcaster at the FIFA World Cup.
But the outspoken pundit claims that football bringing issues to light can only be a good thing, as he continued to state:
“I don’t feel conflicted. I’ve been coming over to the Middle East for 20 years and to south-east Asia. I’ve had business and commercial relationships with these parts for a long, long time. The fact FIFA has awarded a World Cup has come under intense scrutiny, I accept that position, I’m there to be shot at and people have criticised me heavily."
Neville further added:
“If you think that our government, our political parties have relationships with the Middle East - they own Heathrow Airport, the stock exchange. The fact is, football has brought scrutiny and football tournaments have brought scrutiny on this part of the world and the challenges that exist in this part of the world and these things happen. I’m happy for football to front that up.”
He also proclaimed:
“In my point of view, football should stand up, footballers should stand up, there’s another issue with the OneLove armband, the political and social issues that I’m delighted to talk about - there’s a conversation to be had because my point always is."
