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World Cup CEO says “death is natural part of life” in response to worker’s death (VIDEO)

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Nasser Al Khater, chief executive of the 2022 World Cup in Doha, offered his condolences to the family of a Filipino worker who died while working at a training site during the tournament and said “death is a natural part of life.”

Qatar has launched a work safety investigation into the death of a Filipino worker, officials said on Thursday, following reports that the man died while working at a training site during the World Cup.

Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers has come under enormous scrutiny during the build-up to the tournament, with human rights groups accusing the Gulf state of systematic labour abuses — charges rejected by the government.

The Philippines’ foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that one of its nationals had died while working at a resort south of the capital Doha. It said its embassy was “working with legal authorities to ascertain more details of his passing.”

The Athletic on Wednesday reported that the man worked for a company contracted to fix lights in a car park at the Sealine Resort, the training site of the Saudi Arabia national team. It said he died after he slipped off a ramp while walking alongside a forklift and hit his head on concrete.

Citing multiple unnamed sources, it said the accident occurred during the World Cup, but did not specify when.

DISPUTED DEATH NUMBERS

Since being awarded World Cup hosting rights in 2010, Qatar had come under the microscope over its treatment of migrant workers, who account for the majority of its population.

The number of work-related deaths in Qatar is in dispute.

Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported last year that at least 6,500 migrant workers – many of them working on World Cup projects – had died in Qatar since 2010, based on its calculations from official records.

In response, Qatar said the number of deaths was proportionate to the size of the migrant workforce, and included many non-manual workers, adding that every life lost was a tragedy. The SC said that three work-related deaths and 37 non-work related deaths had occurred on World Cup related projects.

“Death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work, whether it’s in your sleep,” Khater said, voicing disappointment at journalists’ questions about The Athletic report.

“We’re in the middle of a World Cup. And we have a successful World Cup. And this is something you want to talk about right now?” he said.

The tournament, the first to be held in the Middle East where other countries have also faced criticism over migrant workers’ rights, has been mired in controversy with some soccer stars and European official criticising Qatar’s human rights record, including on labour, LGBT+ and women’s rights.

(Reuters)

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