Joe Lycett tells David Beckham he’s putting £10,000 in a shredder if he doesn’t back out of World Cup deal with Qatar

Joe Lycett has told David Beckham he will donate £10,000 to charities supporting queer people in football if the sports star pulls out of his World Cup deal with Qatar, and the comedian will shred the money if he doesn’t.

Beckham has been heavily criticized for allegedly accepting £10million as an ambassador for Qatar, a country where homosexuality is illegal, as he was previously seen as a great ally of the LGBTQ+ community.

In an Instagram video shared on Sunday November 13, Lycett sat at a desk with £10,000 in cash in front of him and said: “This is a message for David Beckham. I consider you a gay icon along with Kim Woodburn and Monty Don.

“You’re the first Premiership footballer to shoot with gay magazines like attitudespeaking openly about your gay fans and you married a Spice Girl, which is the gayest thing a person can do.

“But now it’s 2022. And you’ve signed a reported £10m deal with Qatar to be their ambassador during the FIFA World Cup.

“Qatar was voted as one of the worst places in the world for gay people. Homosexuality is illegal, punishable by imprisonment, and if you are Muslim, possibly even death.”

Lycett told the sportsman that since he’s “always talked about the power of football as a force for good,” he decided to give Beckham “a choice.”

He said: “If you end your relationship with Qatar I will donate this £10,000 of my own money as a grand for every million you are reported to receive to charities that support queer people in football.

“If you don’t, however, see you next Sunday noon [20 November]I’m going to throw that money in a shredder just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup and stream it live on a site I’ve registered called benderslikebeckham.com.”

He continued: “Not only the money but also your status as a gay icon is being shredded. You’re going to force me to commit a crime.

“Although I think even then I’ll get off lighter than if I were caught punching a boy in Doha.

“It’s your choice. I look forward to hearing from you.”

The Independent has reached out to Beckham’s rep for comment.

Many fans are concerned about attending the upcoming tournament, with some fearing for their safety while in Doha. Other fans have said they will not be attending the event because of the country’s homosexuality laws.

Rainbow flags are allowed at the World Cup and England have announced captain Harry Kane will wear a One Love armband at the tournament.

Beckham has been accused of “taking hope away” from Qatar’s LGBTQ+ community by becoming an ambassador.

The allegation was made by Dr. Nas Mohamed, who earlier this year became the first Qatari public to come out as gay.

dr Mohamed wrote an open letter to the former England captain in which he claimed, among other things, that the star had “taken money and looked the other way” because of his promotional work for Doha. He also urged the star to use his “voice” and “not remain silent about injustice.”