Pressure grows on football chiefs to cancel Qatar game

MSP submits Holyrood motion in protest at death toll of stadium workers

SCOTTISH football chiefs are under mounting pressure to cancel Friday’s match against Qatar, in protest at a mounting death toll of workers building stadiums for a World Cup awarded by “corrupt” Fifa.

Labour MSP Neil Findlay has submitted a motion at Holyrood expressing “grave concerns” over the treatment of labourers, 1,400 of whom are believed to have died building venues in the Gulf state, and said the move to cancel the fixture would send “the strongest possible message to the Qatari authorities that Scotland finds the current plight of construction workers unacceptable”.

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) also called on the Scottish Football Association (SFA) to speak out about “appalling labour abuse”, saying a death toll of migrants, many of whom found themselves unable to leave the country without their employer’s consent, was on course to hit 4,000 by the time the 2022 tournament kicks off.

Dennis Canavan, a former MP who in the 1970s protested against Scotland playing Chile in a stadium where innocent people had been tortured and murdered by General Pinochet’s regime, backed calls for the fixture to be axed saying the message it would send could save lives.

However, the SFA has insisted that the game at Easter Road, seen as vital preparation for the crucial Euro 2016 qualifier against Ireland, will be going ahead claiming it was important to “separate this sporting fixture from the serious human rights issues emanating from Qatar”.

Mr Findlay won the support of several MSPs, including former Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont, within hours of his motion being published.

He said: “As seen this past week, Fifa is an organisation that is corrupt. But I believe that its biggest scandal is ignoring the plight of building workers in Qatar — 40 a month are being killed and for every game that will take place during the 2022 World Cup it is predicted 62 will have lost their lives.

“In Scotland we can register our concerns starting this week by postponing the friendly game between Scotland and Qatar. Failing to do so sends the wrong message, while postponing it shows that we in Scotland will not tolerate the scandalous treatment of building workers in Qatar. I hope that common sense and decency prevails and that Scotland doesn’t play this game.”

Some fans have also called for a boycott of the match while, if the game does go ahead, protests are expected to take place. While the fixture against Qatar raised eyebrows when it was announced, it has been brought into sharper focus following allegations over corruption at Fifa.

The state winning the right to host the world’s most lucrative sporting tournament has long been viewed as suspicious, given its lack of football heritage, infrastructure and issues with its climate. Last week a string of top officials were arrested following an investigation into historic corruption. A separate investigation is under way into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Mr Canavan, a former MP and MSP who was a key figure in the Yes Scotland campaign, said: “Historically, the SFA has not had a good track record on human rights issues. I well remember, over 30 years ago, protesting in Parliament about the Chile v Scotland game going ahead in the Chilean national stadium, where many innocent people had been imprisoned, tortured and murdered by the Pinochet regime.

“The SFA turned a blind eye but it could be argued at that time that it was too late, after the event, to save the lives of the stadium victims. Today, however, it could be argued that cancellation of the Scotland v Qatar match could help save the lives of stadium workers by sending out a strong message to the Qatar authorities and Fifa that we will not tolerate the rising death toll caused by the continuing exploitation of slave labour with scant regard for health and safety.”

In a statement, the SFA said it was grateful to the Qatar FA for their flexibility in playing the match and also thanked Qatar Airways for sponsoring the fixture. It added that it was “cognisant of disturbing reports on the conditions experienced by migrant workers involved in the building of stadia for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in 2022.”

It said: “As noted recently by

Amnesty International, it is important that universal reach of football can be a force for good. It is with this in mind that we welcome Qatar to Easter Road in June.

“It is important to separate this sporting fixture from the serious human rights issues emanating from Qatar. The Scottish FA condemns any behaviour that compromises human rights and, in conjunction with the Scottish Government, we have already stated our joint offer to provide practical support.”

Meanwhile, Fif a has suspended three senior officials as the bribes scandal affecting football’s world governing body deepened.

Enrique Sanz, the general secretary of Concacaf, has been provisionally banned from any football-related activities following his arrest.

Congo FA’s vice-president Jean Guy Blaise Mayolas and general secretary Badji Mombo Wantete have also been provisionally banned.

Fifa said they had been suspended “based on the fact that various breaches of the Fifa code of ethics appear to have been committed”.