“Perhaps that’s what Infantino should have done yesterday instead of coming out with that rubbish that he came out with.'
Ahead of the opening fixture of the tournament between the hosts and Ecuador, a solemn Lineker stared down the lens and delivered an opening monologue that made it clear there will be no “sticking to football” here before the punditry team also had their say.
“Homosexuality is illegal here, women’s rights and freedom of expression are in the spotlight, also the decision six years ago to switch the World Cup from summer to winter. “There’s a lot spoken about, but I hope once the football gets under way it starts feeling like a World Cup and we can sit and enjoy what’s hopefully a great spectacle.”
“When we sit here we are in the richest country, FIFA one of the richest organisations. The great Nelson Mandela said ‘We can use sport to change the world’; well these two, you’re not. When you can.”“To keep saying ‘football is for everyone’ – we sit here, and it’s not. People have not been able to travel to watch football here out of fear. I’ve had conversations about whether I should be staying at home, whether I should be boycotting. And I thought long and hard about it.
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