John Terry and Arsene Wenger lead beIN SPORTS’ all-star World Cup punditry team but controversial Egyptian included
GARY NEVILLE, John Terry and Brazilian legend Kaka are set to lead the beIN SPORTS star-studded World Cup punditry team that has over 2,000 international caps between them.
The broadcaster has assembled an A-list of footballing greats to cover next month’s showpiece.
Ex-Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel is on board, while World Cup winner Marcel Desailly, a star for Chelsea and France in his playing days, is too.
Kaka, who was 2007 Ballon d’Or winner and lifted the 2002 World Cup, is joined by fellow former midfield greats Ruud Gullit and Lothar Matthaus.
Ex-Italy ace Alessandro del Piero, former Spain star David Villa and Argentina legend Gabriel Batistuta are both among the strikers that have also signed up for beIN’s punditry team.
They will be joined by former England women’s international Lianne Sanderson and her Canadian counterpart Kaylyn Kyle.
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Jason McAteer, who won 52 caps for the Republic of Ireland, and former United States internationals Jermaine Jones and Christopher Sullivan are also involved.
And Arsenal great Arsene Wenger and ex-Premier League fave George Boateng, current assistant coach of Ghana, will be part of the team too along with former Tunisian international Karim Haggui and Egyptian Mohamed Aboutrika.
However, Aboutrika’s inclusion among the pundits has led to a fierce backlash due to his controversial views on homosexuality.
The 43-year-old, who is expected to just feature on beIN’s Middle East and North Africa coverage, was previously filmed claiming that homosexuality is against human nature.
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He also went on to blast the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign – where players change their laces in support of the LGBTQ community between November 27 and December 2.
Presenters Richard Keys and Andy Gray, who were infamously axed by Sky, will also be part of the line-up.
Neville, who will also work for ITV at the tournament, has also faced criticism over his decision to work for beIN SPORTS – but he has insisted that he will have no issues discussing difficult issues regarding the Middle East during their coverage.
He told Sportsmail: “When I highlight these issues, I can do so from a position whereby if I am covering eight games on beIN in a World Cup, and those issues come up or there’s an incident outside the stadium, I will highlight them, as I will on ITV, as I will on my own channels. I will never shy away from it.”
Mohammed Al-Bader, the managing director of beIN’s MENA (Middle East and North Africa) channels said: “’With the greatest show on earth just weeks away, beIN SPORTS is delighted to have brought together the greatest and most diverse broadcast team ever assembled, who will proudly present the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 across 25 countries worldwide.”
Hosts Qatar take on Ecuador in Group A in the World Cup’s opening match on November 20.
All 64 World Cup matches will be shown across seven beIN SPORTS channels.
