How tone deaf can you be?
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has once again defended Qatar’s appalling human rights record and has claimed that they have made “undeniable progress.”
Infantino was speaking at the latest FIFA congress where he continued to express his support for the upcoming World Cup and stressed that the Arab state had made huge strides on the treatment of migrant workers and addressing their human rights issues.
Infantino claimed Qatar have made ‘undeniable progress’
“It is important on one side to underline the progress that has been made in terms of human rights, in terms of worker rights,” he said, as per Inside World Football.
“With the abolishment of kafala system, with minimum wages for the workers, with measures to protect the health of the workers. It is not FIFA saying it, it is not even Qatar saying it. It’s the International Labour Organisation, international trade unions, it is the BWI.
“This progress is undeniable. It is excellent. It is going in the right direction. Of course, everything is not perfect. Every country is probably the same.
“I can assure you that we are there, I am personally there, calling on and appealing to the authorities to ensure the government has not only implemented this new legislation but effectively and efficiently enforces it.
“This is to make sure that those workers who have not been paid, who have suffered, have to be adequately compensated. We are all watching to try to make sure that the legacy of the World Cup will stay forever.”
Infantino has previously faced backlash for his comments
Infantino has had previous history with his less than sensitive comments surrounding the human rights issues. Earlier in March, the president of the global football governing body compared the welfare of migrant workers in Qatar to his own parents’ emigration.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino asked at a business conference in California about migrant worker abuses in Qatar said in part: “My parents emigrated from Italy to Switzerland. When you give work to someone, even in hard conditions. you give him dignity and pride.”
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) May 2, 2022
He said: “My parents emigrated from Italy to Switzerland. When you give work to someone, even in hard conditions. you give him dignity and pride.”
“People need to know these issues, the real stories of the people who have gone there.”
What it costs to build a World Cup. The toll taken on a migrant worker who spent four years in Qatar.
✍️ @SmnLlyd5https://t.co/oEloXzxRN8
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) April 1, 2022
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