The controversies of Qatar 2022 3:08
(CNN) --
FIFA President Gianni Infantino's nearly hour-long speech on the eve of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been described as "insensitive" and an "insult" to migrant workers for part of human rights groups.
In an explosive and sometimes bizarre monologue, Infantino — the president of world soccer's governing body — accused Western critics of Qatar's human rights record of hypocrisy.
"Deeply unfair."
Gianni Infantino delivered an explosive speech against Western critics on the eve of the World Cup
“Today I feel Qatari.
Today I feel Arab.
Today I feel African.
Today I feel gay.
Today I feel disabled.
Today I feel like a migrant worker,” he said, in front of a stunned audience.
"I feel this, all this, because of what I have been seeing and what they have told me, since I do not read, otherwise I would be depressed I think."
"What we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years, we should apologize for the next 3,000 years before we start giving moral lessons," he continued.
advertising
“Reform and change take time.
It took hundreds of years in our countries in Europe.
It takes time everywhere, the only way to get results is by participating […] not shouting”.
The tournament, which begins on Sunday, is the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, but it has been mired in controversy, with much of the preparation focused on human rights, since the workers' deaths. migrants and the conditions many have endured in Qatar, to LGBTQ and women's rights.
Infantino, despite admitting that things were not perfect, called some criticism "deeply unfair" and accused the West of double standards.
"History will not judge this moment kindly"
Nicholas McGeehan, director of FairSquare, a nonprofit human rights organization, said in a statement: "Infantino's comments were as insensitive as they were clumsy and suggest that the FIFA president gets his talking points directly from the FIFA authorities." Qatar.
"Deviance and
whataboutism
have always been at the center of Qatar's public relations efforts to defend their rank failures, and now they have the FIFA president doing their job for them."
Mustafa Qadri, executive director of the international human rights organization Equidem, also said in a statement: “History will not judge this moment kindly.
Infantino's speech was an insult to the thousands of working women and men who have made the World Cup possible."
"He had a perfect opportunity to recognize that thousands of women and men from the poorest countries came to the richest only to face deception, exploitation and discrimination," she added.
“Every day, workers contact Equidem about unpaid wages, abuse, and being afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation from employers.
Here is a solution: Infantino must establish a comprehensive compensation fund and demand that Qatar establish an independent migrant worker center so that workers have a safe space to file complaints and get the support they need.”
The Guardian reported last year that 6,500 South Asian migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup in 2010, most of whom were involved in low-wage and dangerous work, often performed in extreme heat conditions.
How many deaths did the construction of the stadiums for the World Cup in Qatar leave?
this is what we know
The report did not link the 6,500 deaths to World Cup infrastructure projects and has not been independently verified by CNN.
Hassan Al Thawadi, the man in charge of directing Qatar's preparations, told CNN's Becky Anderson last year that the Guardian figure of 6,500 was a "tabloid headline" that was misleading and that the report lacked context.
A government official told CNN there were three work-related deaths at stadiums and 37 non-work-related deaths.
In a statement, the official said the Guardian figures were "inaccurate" and "grossly misleading."
Eight new stadiums rose from the desert, and the Gulf state expanded its airport, built new hotels, railways and highways.
All would have been built by migrant workers, who, according to Amnesty International, represent 90% of the labor force in a population of close to three million.
Since 2010, when Qatar was awarded the World Cup, migrant workers have faced back or unpaid wages, forced labor, long hours in hot weather, intimidation from employers and the inability to leave their jobs due to the system. sponsorship of the country, according to what human rights organizations have discovered.
Controversy over the venue of the World Cup.
Was it a mistake to choose Qatar?
2:09
Aimee Lewis contributed to this report.
World Cup Qatar 2022
