There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Qatar World Cup.Qatar do things their own way and that has annoyed a number of people.Many have been critical at some of the decisions that the country have made both before and during the tournament.John Barnes has not been afraid to speak out on political issues in the past and he's now launched a passionate defence of Qatar.The Liverpool legend appeared on Good Morning Britain on Friday and he spoke his mind. His comments have gone viral on social media, with one such video receiving over 3.5k retweets at the time of writing.
VIDEO: John Barnes defends Qatar and their culture
Barnes started by slamming Boris Johnson's comments of Qatari women.
He added: "What the Qatar World Cup is doing is inviting everyone to come but just be respectful of their culture, their religion and their laws.
"They have relaxed a lot of the laws: look at the drinking laws.
"You can drink, but the fact you now can't drink at a stadium for 90 minutes, we are now trying to beat them with a stick. As much as they've relaxed those drinking laws, can we not do without alcohol for 90 minutes?"
"You look at situations, for example the crusader debate [People dressed as crusaders were forced to change their outfit]. You know how crusaders are viewed in that part of the world. It's very similar to come to a football match in a Nazi uniform."
Read more: World Cup 2022: England fans dressed as crusaders banned from stadiums
BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 23: John Barnes attends the Celebrity Big Brother live eviction at Elstree Studios on January 23, 2018 in Borehamwood, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
He continued: "I believe that if you go to somebody's country... you can say the same thing for people that come here, who may not believe in our laws or do not believe they are right... They have to respect our laws while they are here.
"If we do not want to respect their laws: do not go. If footballers feel they want to do something, be it an armband or outspoken and not allowed to... make a stand and say 'I'm not going because I really believe in this.' But they really don't."
Barnes also spoke about Germany's protest, where their players covered their mouths after their captain, Manuel Neuer, was not allowed to wear the 'OneLove' armband.
Read more: World Cup: Germany release defiant statement as they cover their mouths vs Japan
“Once again you have a lot of virtue-signalling going on," he said, per the Express.
“I don’t know whether the Germans before the World Cup were speaking out for the LGBT community in any great degree as the Australians or if in their everyday lives they’re greatly concerned about it.
“Or because the cameras are now there, they’re trying to make a statement.
“Of course, straight after the World Cup, I don’t think they’re going to be talking about it.England football team
“I believe fighting against discrimination is not part-time, it’s every day, not every time the World Cup comes around and the camera [are] on us, we say something.
“Let’s get on with the football, while we understand there are problems there, there are problems here.â€
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