BrewDog accused of hypocrisy over World Cup 'anti-sponsorship' campaign
The craft beer brewer and bar operator was forced to defend itself after it emerged it would still show the tournament despite describing it as a 'World F*Cup' and admonishing the gulf state hosts for having dragged football 'through the mud'.
In a statement posted to his LinkedIn, BrewDog CEO and co-founder James Watt said: “There has been a lot of discussion around the fact that we are showing the games in our bars. We thought long and hard about this. But ultimately decided to do so for two reasons:
“Firstly, we all love craft beer and love football. We truly feel we shouldn’t deny our loyal customers the chance to enjoy them together just because FIFA bizarrely chose to award the world cup to Qatar in very questionable circumstances.
“Secondly, all profits from Lost Lager sold during the tournament will be donated to human rights charities. The truth is, we will raise more money to do good if we show the matches in our bars.
“People are still going to watch the games - so giving them the opportunity to watch the games both to raise awareness and raise money to drive positive change at the same time is worthwhile.”
BrewDog launched its so-called 'anti-sponsorship' campaign earlier this week to protest Qatar’s human rights record including its criminalisation of homosexuality, use of corporal punishment, and reports of migrant workers dying in preparations for the tournament. It also claimed the country had won the opportunity to host the tournament through bribery 'on an industrial scale'.
Additionally, a series of billboards were put up as part of campaign (pictured), with slogans including: “First Russia [referring to the 2018 FIFA World Cup host nation] then Qatar. Can’t wait for North Korea.”
While Watt claimed in his statement that 'taking a stand is always better than not saying anything', many have taken to social media to accuse the brand of hypocrisy for choosing to still profit from the tournament by showing it.
One tweeted: “Not showing it in their bars isn’t stopping anyone from watching it. It’s not even stopping them from watching it in a pub with a pint of BrewDog if they wish. But it would show it was a genuinely-held belief and not just empty self-promotion.”
In another post, it was also revealed that cans of BrewDog lager are actually available to buy in Qatar.
“We do not sell direct to Qatar, but we do have a relationship with a distributor that sells into multiple middle eastern markets, primarily into Dubai but including Qatar,” added Watt in response.
“Apple sells iPhones in Qatar and China - that doesn’t mean it endorses human rights records of these governments. Neither do we.
“We are doing our bit to raise awareness of these scandals and injustices and will keep doing so.”
