Qataris and FIFA denounce death of another worker accusing world media of 'false narrative'

December 9 – Dismissing the death of a migrant worker from the Philippines at Saudi Arabia's training station in Qatar, World Cup boss Nasser Al Khater said: "Death is a natural part of life, whether at work or in your sleep. ."

His remarks came after The Athletic reported that a Filipino worker had died after slipping off a ramp while walking alongside a forklift and hitting his head on concrete. The migrant worker was hired by a company to repair lights in a parking lot at Sealine Resort, the Saudi national team's training site during the World Cup.

Reuters later reported that Qatar was investigating the death, but Al Khater was unhappy when asked about the matter.

"We're in the middle of a World Cup and we're having a successful World Cup and that's something you want to talk about now?" he said.

"Death is a natural part of life, whether it's at work or in your sleep. A worker has died, our condolences to his family, but it's strange that it's something you want to focus on like first question."

Al Khater went on the attack, once again accusing the media of spreading fake news, an aggressive argument that Qatar and local organizers began rolling out in the months leading up to the tournament.

"Listen, worker deaths were a big topic during the World Cup," Al Khater said. "Everything that has been said and everything that has been reflected on the death of the workers is absolutely false."

"This theme, this negativity around the World Cup is something that we have faced.

"We're a little disappointed that reporters have exacerbated this false narrative. And honestly, I think a lot of reporters need to ask themselves questions and think about why they've been trying to dwell on this for so long. ."

Perhaps Al Khater and the World Cup organizers didn't read the play.

After years of downplaying the number of migrant worker deaths, organizers have revised the figure of three work-related deaths and 37 non-work-related deaths to 400-500 deaths. Last year, the Guardian reported that 6,500 non-Qataris had died in the emirate since construction began for the World Cup.

The number remains hotly contested due to a lack of transparency from Qatari authorities on the issue and the cause of death on death certificates. However, on Thursday, Fatma Samoura turned out to be another deaf manager.

“We have already elaborated long interventions on what we are doing with Qatar,” said the FIFA Secretary General. "I don't think it's appropriate when people come here to learn things, that we talk about things that we've already discussed months and months and months and again and again."

Human Rights Watch called the response from Qatari organizers and FIFA "callous", saying: The responses from FIFA and Qatari authorities illustrate their entities' longstanding disregard for the lives of migrant workers. , repeated obfuscation of key facts and failure to take responsibility for the safety of migrant workers. Qatar's Supreme Committee was quick to deny that the death was within its jurisdiction, even though at the time of his death, Alex (the Filipino worker's name) was repairing FIFA's infrastructure."

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