Qatar fluffs its World Cup kickoff: 'Fans' are seen trooping out of stadium early leaving rows of empty seats, after disgraced Morgan Freeman hosts opening ceremony and rows rage over 'most controversial' tournament ever

  • Morgan Freeman kicked off the World Cup opening ceremony in Qatar today in front of the country's royals
  • The actor, who's faced accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour, narrated the opening
  • There were thousands of empty seats as fans decided to leave the opening match of the tournament early
  • The Italian referee defied the stadium to start the first match two seconds early as the crowd counted down
  • The BBC decided to show a pre-packaged report on Qatar's human rights record instead of the ceremony
  • On the pitch Qatar fell to a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador, becoming the first host nation to lose its opening game 
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