British football fans took to social media to express their outrage at the BBC's decision not show the 2022 World Cup opening ceremony on terrestrial television.
Instead, the British state broadcaster decided to air a pre-packaged discussion led by pundit Gary Lineker on human rights concerns surrounding the tournament.
"Now why the hell isn’t BBC showing the opening ceremony," said one fan on Twitter.
"Is this the sort of thing from the opening ceremony that the BBC didn’t want people to see? Beautiful quotes from the Qur’an?" asked one social media user.
Fans who wanted to see the spectacular display featuring performances by BTS, an appearance by Morgan Freeman and traditional Qatari dances had to tune in online, breaking from decades of broadcasting tradition.
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also gave a speech during the ceremony, saying "how beautiful it is for people to put aside what divides them in order to celebrate their diversity and what brings them together at the same time."
Contrarian pundit Piers Morgan also shared his distaste at the BBC's decision to boycott the ceremony.