Fox Sports’ coverage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been widely panned as a series of gaffes, relentless commercialism, and on-air awkwardness, according to a scathing review. The broadcaster, which holds the English-language rights in the United States, has been accused of prioritising jingoism and ignoring the tournament’s controversial backdrop.
The review highlights numerous errors, including host Rob Stone mistakenly referring to Doha as “Dosa” before disappearing from coverage for three days. Other criticisms include Alexi Lalas’s “nonsense” speeches and Clint Dempsey’s incoherent commentary. The coverage has been described as akin to a “farmers’ league XI” compared to the US men’s national team’s technical quality.
Fox has also faced backlash for airing the full opening ceremony and a segment sponsored by the Qatar Foundation, while the BBC opted to focus on human rights abuses. The review argues that Fox has glossed over the tournament’s “rottenness”, including its legacy of exploitation and deaths, drawing parallels to American military adventurism in the Middle East.
The match coverage itself has been criticised as lacking sharpness, with the studio set described as an “Orientalist redoubt” featuring Arabesque motifs but few actual Arabs. The review concludes that viewers without Spanish skills to watch Telemundo are stuck with Fox, and the only solution is to “embrace the misery”.
