FIFA faces law suit for mistreatment of migrant workers

TORONTO, Canada (Kurdistan24) – FIFA is being sued over its poor treatment of migrant workers building facilities for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, The Guardian reported on Monday.

Qatar was voted to host the World Cup in 2022 after Russia won the bid to host the 2018 tournament during a December 2010 election.

Since then, the Gulf state has been criticized and monitored over the poor conditions of nearly 1.7 million migrant workers.

The legal challenge was brought forward by the Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV) on behalf of a migrant worker.

Lawyers sent a letter to FIFA urging it to “acknowledge that it has acted wrongfully by awarding the World Cup 2022 to Qatar without demanding the assurance that Qatar observes fundamental human and labour rights.”

FIFA, the world’s governing body for football, has been in the spotlight recently for corruption among its top officials.

Former president Sepp Blatter was sacked from his post as well as several other executives accused of bribery and other charges.

FIFA reacted to criticism over the conditions of migrant workers in Qatar and said it cannot be held accountable for working conditions in the host country.

Responding to an Amnesty International report about the issues in Qatar, Federico Addiechi, FIFA’s head of sustainability, defended the organization.

“FIFA cannot and indeed does not have the responsibility to solve all the societal problems in a host country of a FIFA World Cup,” Addiechi said.

“FIFA has taken concrete action and is fully committed to do its utmost to ensure that human rights are respected on all FIFA World Cup sites,” he added.

FNV lawyers have given FIFA three weeks to accept the charges and pay damages before appearing in court.

Editing by Ava Homa