Judge Rinder says he wants England to win the World Cup as an ‘articulate middle finger’ to Qatar

ITV daytime star criticised the country’s human rights record and stance on homosexuality

Judge Robert Rinder has criticised Qatar after England’s 3-0 win against Senegal in the World Cup last night (4 December).

England’s triumph means they are now through to the quarter-finals of the tournament in Qatar, and will play France on Saturday (10 December).

ITV daytime star Rinder, who was hosting Good Morning Britain alongside Susanna Reid on Monday (5 December), said: “At first I wasn’t going to watch [the World Cup] and now, I don’t know if you feel like this, not only do I want them to win, I want them to go and win that final and I want them to win it for the values of Britain, of Western democracy.”

He added: “As an articulate middle finger… for every worker, all of those thousands who died, for every corrupt Fifa official that took a kick back, and for those minority communities, women and members of the LGBT community in that country that can’t be free. Boy, do I hope they win.”

The 2022 tournament kicked off last month in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal and anyone found participating in same-sex sexual activity can be punished with up to seven years in prison.

There has also been international outrage over the deaths of workers during the build up to the tournament. Last week, a top Qatari official put the number of migrant worker deaths at “between 400 and 500” for the first time.

Dua Lipa recently admitted she was unhappy with earlier “speculations” that she was going to perform at the World Cup.

Robert Rinder on ‘GMB’ (ITV)

“The World Cup is a really unique opportunity to hold Qatar to account,” she said.

“They made pledges on human rights when they signed the deal for the World Cup that have not been satisfactorily met on migrant workers’ rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and freedom of expression – what kind of message does it send if these pledges mean nothing?”

Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays at 6am on ITV.