Neville casts doubts over Qatar deaths in online f ilm
VIDEO footage has emerged of Sky soccer pundit Gary Neville seeming to play down human rights abuses in Qatar. He also appeared to cast doubt over international outrage at the deaths of migrant workers in the Gulf state.
Fomer Manchester United defender Mr Neville, who supported Qatar’s controversial bid to host the World Cup this year, said in a documentary: ‘Do we believe that on those sites, in front of Western project managers, that workers are dying and they’re hiding it? Are we really saying that’s happening? I find that difficult to believe because I’ve got more faith in people.’
The programme, which is available on YouTube and was organised by Qatar, looked at the Arab nation’s preparations for the World Cup.
During the video, Mr Neville questions a Qatari official about reports saying the death toll of workers while constructing stadiums could hit 4,000.
The official says that since
2020 there had been only three work-related deaths.
Mr Neville says in a voiceover that confusion reigns: ‘At the moment we can’t disprove the number of three. And we certainly can’t prove the number of 4,000.’ He refused to comment last night on his views expressed in the Qatari documentary.