CNN
—
FIFA on Thursday confirmed the death of a migrant worker at the resort utilized by Saudi Arabia throughout the group phases at the World Cup in Qatar.
“FIFA is deeply saddened by this tragedy and our thoughts and sympathies are with the worker’s family,” a spokesperson for the world soccer governing physique instructed CNN in an announcement.
“As quickly as FIFA was made conscious of the accident, we contacted the native authorities to request extra particulars.
“FIFA will be in a position to comment further once the relevant processes in relation to the worker’s passing have been completed.”
It’s unclear what the worker was doing or the circumstances surrounding the particular person’s death.
Sealine Beach resort was the designated FIFA training base for Saudi Arabia earlier than the staff was eradicated within the group phases of the match.
In an announcement to CNN, Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) mentioned: “Due to the incident referred to having taken place on property not beneath the jurisdiction of the SC, and the deceased working as a contractor not beneath the remit of the SC, this matter is being dealt with by the related authorities authorities.
“The SC is following up with the same relevant authorities to ensure we are updated with developments pertaining to the investigation on a regular basis and has established contact with the family of the deceased to ensure relevant information is conveyed,” the SC added.
A Qatari authorities official confirmed to CNN that the incident was being investigated by authorities.
“If the investigation concludes that safety protocols were not followed, the company will be subject to legal action and severe financial penalties,” the official mentioned.
Also on Thursday, Qatar 2022 World Cup chief government Nasser Al Khater instructed a Reuters reporter that “death is a natural part of life” in response to a query concerning the newest migrant worker death, however he didn’t handle the circumstances round this incident.
“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?” Al Khater mentioned.
“I mean, death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work, whether it’s in your sleep. Of course, a worker died. Our condolences go to his family. However, I mean, it is strange that this is something you want to focus on as your first question.”
In an interview with Piers Morgan, which aired on TalkTV in November, Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General of the SC, mentioned that between 400 and 500 migrant staff have died consequently of work accomplished on tasks linked to the match – a higher determine than Qatari officers have cited beforehand.
Al-Thawadi mentioned in the identical interview that three migrant staff had died in incidents instantly linked with building of World Cup stadiums, and 37 deaths have been attributed to different causes.
In his interview on Thursday, Al Khater added: “Look, staff’ death has been a giant topic throughout the World Cup. Everything that has been mentioned and every thing that has been mirrored about staff’ deaths has been completely false.
“This theme, this negativity across the World Cup has been one thing that we’ve been confronted with. We’re a bit disillusioned that the journalists have been exacerbating this false narrative.
“And honestly, I think a lot of the journalists have to ask themselves and reflect on why they’ve been trying to bang on about the subject for so long.”