Fox facing backlash for praising Qatar during their World Cup coverage

World Cup viewers are criticizing Fox Sports for its coverage of the Qatar World Cup - specifically, the lack of attention paid to Qatar's human rights record.

At the start of the World Cup, many networks highlighted Qatar's human rights violations before giving the country further attention.

"From accusations of corruption in the bidding process to the treatment of migrant workers who built the stadiums where many lost their lives, homosexuality is illegal here, women's rights and freedom of expression are under the spotlight," Gary Lineker said during BBC's coverage.

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Telemundo dedicated an entire segment to highlight the working conditions for migrant workers.

But on the flip side, viewers noticed Fox Sports was particularly kind to Qatar, and there was no mention of the human rights violations.

"Fox Sports absolutely fawning over Qatar during this preview show," Mitch tweeted.

"I know Fox Sports wants to avoid the issues of Qatar, but when it shows the country's support section, [it] seems impossible to ignore there are no women. It is disgusting," Andrew wrote.

"Just a tiny bit of hypocrisy from the Fox Sports commentators to discuss the domestic Iranian problems while the network has declared they will 100% ignore the political complexities of jumping in bed with Qatar (heterosexual innuendo only, ofc, since homosexuality’s illegal)," Dave tweeted.

According to the Washington Post,Qatar Airways, the state-owned airline, is serving as a major sponsor for Fox Sports' coverage.

Because of this, people are accusing Fox Sports of providing Qatar only positive press coverage.

“Qatar Airways is a major sponsor of FIFA World Cup 2022 and will have a significant presence across our entire coverage of the tournament," Fox Sports said in a statement to The Post.

"They, along with our portfolio of blue-chip sponsors, allow us the opportunity to present unrivaled coverage of what arguably stands to be one of the best World Cups ever with the long-awaited return of the U.S. Men’s National Team.”

@brettwit / Twitter

We reached out to Fox Sports for comment.

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