JAKARTA French national team coach Didier Deschamps refuses to discuss the length of the death of a migrant worker from the Philippines who occurred during the Qatar 2022 World Cup group phase.
The 54-year-old tactician said that this was not the right time to talk about the incident because he only focused on preparing the French national team against England in the quarter-finals at Al Bayt Stadium, Sunday, December 11 in the morning.
"Yes, it's always a sensitive topic, it's not something I want to talk about at length. I just knew [the last death] and wanted to convey my sincere condolences to the family," he said.
"That may be a priority [media], but my priority is a game; we are in a tournament. That doesn't mean we are insensitive to what happens outside of football, but we shouldn't mix everything," he added.
The death of the worker, who is estimated to be 40 years old, was first reported by The Athletic on Wednesday this week. The worker died after falling while carrying out cleaning duties at the headquarters of the Saudi Arabia national team.
FIFA on Thursday also confirmed the death. The worker in question reportedly did not wear a safety rope and the Qatari government is also trying to explore the main cause of the worker's death.
"I'm not trying to avoid questions. I'm here with my team, we are footballers and here is a football tournament," said Deschamps, who tried to lead France to defend the title.
"Unfortunately, footballers are not in a position to solve problems outside of football. This is more than just a problem, it's related to someone who lost his life.
"Maybe you're thinking talking about this is respect, but talking about him won't help. I think for his family, the pain and suffering they're suffering from, it can also be disrespectful," he added.
Previously, Qatar 2022 World Cup CEO Nasser Al Khater had also responded to the death. He said that death is natural from the cycle of life.
The problem of the death of migrant workers, human rights issues, and the criminalization of the LGBT community in the Middle East country has become the dominant issue during this year's World Cup.
Amnesty International in 2021 published a report claiming at least thousands of migrant workers died in the last 10 years while building the World Cup infrastructure. However, the Qatari government has denied that number on several occasions.
Secretary-General of the Supreme Committee for the Realization and Heritage of Qatar Hassan al-Thawadi last week had a death toll ranging from 400 to 500 people.
This is the first time a Qatari official has been involved in organizing the World Cup has named the death toll. The number is much higher than the previous estimate.
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