When asked about a migrant worker's death during the competition, the top executive of the Qatar World Cup responded, "Death is a normal part of life." This response has drawn criticism from human rights organizations.
Following the worker's passing during the group stages, Fifa, the international governing body of football, expressed their "deep sadness."
Nasser Al Khater, the head of the competition,
expressed disappointment at journalists' inquiries about the issue in an
interview with Reuters.
Human Rights Watch spokeswoman Rothna Begum claimed
that the Qatari official's remark "displays a callous disdain for the
migrant worker who has perished."
His assertion that fatalities occur and are normal
when they do ignores the reality that many migrant worker deaths might have
been avoided.
The Athletic said that a Filipino national died after falling to the ground while performing maintenance at a resort that served as the Saudi Arabian team's center of operations.
One of the major issues overshadowing the World Cup build-up was Qatar's handling of migrant labor.
The employee was "not operating within its
remit," according to the tournament's supreme committee and the event
happened "on land not under its authority."
Fifa reported receiving information about an
accident and contacting the local authorities to get additional information.
Al Khater said, "Is this something you want to discuss right now?" "I mean, whether it happens at work or when you're sleeping, death is a normal part of life.
Naturally, a worker passed away. We extend our
sympathies to his family. However, I find it odd that this is what you want to
concentrate on in your initial query.
"Look, workers' fatalities have been a hot topic during the World Cup," he said. Every single thing that has been stated and thought concerning worker deaths has been completely wrong.
"We have had to deal with this issue, this
negativity around the World Cup.
We're a little upset that the media has been escalating this false narrative, and frankly, I believe a lot of the media needs to consider why they've been attempting to cover the topic for so long.
According to Ella Knight, an expert in Amnesty International's work on labor rights for migrants, Mr. Al Qater is wrong when he claims that every fatality is looked into.
For years, we and others have urged the Qatari
government to launch similar inquiries into worker fatalities, but to no
success.