(CNN)– The organizing committee for the World Cup in Qatar has questioned the allegations of the Danish national team’s sportswear manufacturer Hamel of human rights violations, following the company revealed the kits that the Danish team will wear in the tournament.
On Wednesday, the company announced, through its social media account, an all-red shirt, all-white, and all-black shirt representing the “colour of mourning”, and said, “This is a protest. We do not want to appear as a hero that has cost thousands of people their lives.”
Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported last year that 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar in the 10 years, most of them engaged in low-wage and dangerous work, often in sweltering conditions.
The report – which tournament organizers categorically denied – did not link all 6,500 deaths to World Cup infrastructure projects and has not been independently verified by CNN.
On Wednesday, tournament organizers disputed Hamel’s allegations and said they had engaged in a “strong and transparent dialogue” with the Danish Football Association.
“We strongly refuse to underestimate our true commitment to protecting the health and safety of the 30,000 workers who built the FIFA World Cup stadiums and other tournament projects,” the organizers said in a statement. .”
CNN has contacted FIFA for comment.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in May, when asked if the federation would make any commitment to the families of people who died in preparations for the tournament, that the sports organization was investigating “all these things” and that only three people had died.
Qatar has been criticized for its treatment of migrant workers and for the country’s anti-homosexuality laws.
In May, the president of the Norwegian Football Association, Liz Clavens, called the decision to choose Qatar as the host country for the World Cup as “unacceptable”.
Amnesty International sent an open letter signed by other human rights organizations to Infantino, requesting the allocation of at least $440 million to compensate migrant workers.
The 2022 World Cup kicks off on November 20 and continues until December 18 in Qatar, and Denmark’s first match is scheduled for November 22 once morest Tunisia.
