Gary Lineker dragged into Ferdinand and Carragher Saudi feud after BBC speech

Former Sky Sports host Richard Keys has dragged Gary Lineker into the war of words between Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher over Saudi Arabia’s recent spending spree, bringing several of the biggest names in football over to the Middle East. The Manchester United icon originally called out Carragher for his criticism of their transfer strategy, which has led to the two going back and forth on social media. Keys, who now works for beIN SPORTS in Qatar, has sided with Ferdinand but brought up Lineker’s speech to begin the World Cup where he called out the host nation for their human rights issues . Carragher also previously spoke about Ferdinand, a BBC pundit for the tournament last winter, not appearing for the opening game. ‘Well said @rioferdy5 re @Carra23 but I don’t remember you pulling Lineker up when he spouted his ill-informed nonsense about Qatar 2022 – worse nor did a weak BBC ,’ Keys wrote on Twitter . ‘More will follow Steven [Gerrard]. Power & influence is in Middle East in a modern world.’ Carragher expressed his worries over the growing influence that Saudi Arabis is having on the sport, as he wrote on Twitter: “Saudi have taken over Golf, the big Boxing fights & now they want to take over football!! This sports washing needs to be stopped!” Gary Lineker has been named in the Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher feud. (Image: Getty) Ferdinand, however, lambasted Carragher for not mentioning his former Liverpool team-mate taking up a new job as head coach of Al Ettifaq in the country. “Jamie? Jamie Carragher man, where are you?” Ferdinand asked on his FIVE YouTube channel. “Your boy’s [Gerrard] gone over there and I’ve not heard a peep out of you. I’ve not heard how disappointed you are…” Carragher insisted that his issue was not with the individuals, but instead the country’s motives. “Never criticised [David] Silva, [Karim] Benzema, [Ruben] Neves or SG,’ he said before calling out Ferdinand for his approach on the BBC during the World Cup. ‘I don’t like Saudi trying to buy football like they have Golf. Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher have clashed on social media. (Image: Getty)