Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Qatari minister slams Western media coverage of World Cup record

Qatari minister slams Western media coverage of World Cup record

Ali bin Samikh al-Marri says his country accepts constructive criticism but he decries use of ‘statistics [that] lack accuracy’.

Qatar’s labour minister has hit out at Western media for their coverage of the country’s preparations for the football World Cup, days before the Gulf state becomes the first in the Middle East to host the event.

Speaking at a meeting hosted by the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights on Monday, Ali bin Samikh al-Marri said that while Qatar accepts constructive criticism, the campaign against his country had recently picked up pace.

Al-Marri in Brussels criticised the coverage of migrant worker deaths in preparation for the World Cup – with alleged figures ranging between 6,500 to 15,000 – as “circulated statistics [that] lack accuracy, credibility and integrity, and are not issued by documented bodies”.

“Every day, we hear a new slander about mortality rates of workers, as if we were in a ‘public auction’,” he said.

“I would like to stress the inaccuracy of these numbers. I would also implore all politicians to refer to official specialised organisations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) … when sourcing accurate information,” he said.



In February 2021, the Guardian newspaper reported that 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had died in the country since 2010, when Qatar was awarded the World Cup.

The Qatari government has stated that these figures, provided by the respective countries’ embassies, included deaths of people not working on World Cup projects. It said, “The mortality rate among these communities is within the expected range for the size and demographics of the population.”

The government said there were 37 deaths between 2014 and 2020 among workers directly linked to the construction of World Cup stadiums, of which three were “work-related”.

Last month, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said his country faced an “unprecedented campaign” of criticism in the lead-up to the event, which raised questions “about the real reasons and motives” behind the campaign. Senior Qatari officials have also denounced the “hypocrisy” of people calling for a boycott of the World Cup to protest against alleged human rights in the Gulf country.

French publication Le Canard enchainé recently sparked outrage after publishing a cartoon depicting Qatari footballers as terrorists. The caricature was blasted by social media users as “blatant Islamophobia” and “racism”.

On Monday, al-Marri said: “The slanders and allegations against Qatar began to take a different turn in adopting hate and racist rhetoric with the aim of offending the Qatari people and their national team.”

He added: “We will not accept hate speech and systematic racism towards our people, our country and our team, and we call on international human rights organisations to take firm stances against anyone who engages in this attack.”


Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers and its human rights record have been in the spotlight since it was awarded the tournament, leading to calls for teams to boycott the tournament altogether.

The country faced widespread criticism from human rights groups for its previous use of the kafala system – under which workers are tied to an employer whose consent they need to change jobs in the form of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) – a law that rights activists have argued tied their presence in Qatar to their employers and led to abuse and exploitation.

The need for a NOC to change employment was scrapped in August 2020 amid other landmark changes, including the introduction of a minimum wage. Qatar also introduced a minimum wage and new regulations on working in heat, as part of a labour reform process that it said was launched before it was awarded the World Cup.

In his speech on Monday, al-Marri said critics of Qatar were purposely ignoring the country’s labour reforms because “they do not serve their misleading stories”.

The ILO, in a report released this month, said Qatar had made progress in its labour reforms but challenges in their implementation remained. It said the changes have improved the working and living conditions for hundreds of thousands of workers – estimated to form 85 percent of Qatar’s population – though additional efforts were needed to ensure that all workers could benefit.

The World Cup kicks off on November 20, with the opening match seeing the hosts take Ecuador in Al Bayt Stadium. The final will take place on December 18.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×