the World Cup Quarterfinals are just around the corner, but once again developments next to the square are causing heads to shake…
A worker apparently from the Philippines during the Soccer World Cup in Qatar lost his life. The man died as a result of an accident during repair work at the Saudi Arabian delegation’s team hotel, the US sports news site The Athletic reported. FIFA confirmed this.
Now World Cup chief organizer Nasser Al Khater commented.
After a construction worker accident in Qatar This interview is simply stunning
Al Khater responded to the reports of the worker’s death: “We’re at the Fifa Championships. We are in the middle of a World Cup. And we have a successful World Cup. And that’s something you want to talk about right now?”
He had previously expressed his regret.
Next: “I mean, death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work or while we’re asleep. Of course a worker died. Our condolences go to his family. But it’s odd that you wanted to focus on that in your first question.”
The Athletic reported that the deceased was a man named Alex, who is believed to be in his early 40s. He is said to have been involved in an accident with a forklift. When he fell off a ramp, he hit his head on concrete, it said. The man was not wearing a seat belt – it is not known why.
The human rights organization “Amnesty International” claims that 15,021 people died during the construction work in the run-up to the Winter World Cup in Qatar. The number 6,751 from an article in the British newspaper “The Guardian” from early 2021 is also frequently mentioned. The Qatari World Cup organizers speak of 40 deaths.
One thing is clear: now one has been added.
Al Khater: “This issue, this negativity surrounding the World Cup was something that we were unfortunately confronted with. We are a little disappointed that the journalists have reinforced this false narrative. And honestly, I think a lot of journalists should question themselves and think about why they’ve been trying to cover this topic for so long.”