2022 World Cup CEO Nasser Al Khater has fired back at Gareth Southgate after his criticisms of the working conditions in Qatar, warning the England boss to "pick his words carefully".
Qatar were controversially handed the rights to host the 2022 World Cup back in 2010, with the country's poor human rights record subsequently highlighted amid accusations that migrant workers have been mistreated during structural preparations for the tournament.
A number of high profile figures in the game have spoken out, including Southgate, who has expressed concern over the safety of travelling supporters.
What did Southgate say?
“I think I’m quite clear on the areas of concern about this tournament,” the England manager said earlier this month.
“The building of the stadiums was the first, and there’s nothing we can do about that now. They’re built.
"There are obviously ongoing concerns about the rights of workers and the conditions they live in and those areas.
“Then there are the issues that potentially threaten our fans when they travel: the rights of women and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in particular.
"It would be horrible to think some of our fans feel they can’t go because they feel threatened or they’re worried about their safety. So there needs to be some clarity and some better communication that they are going to be safe, because they’re not feeling that.”
Al Khater's response
Al Khater, the chief executive of this year's World Cup, has now come out to question the validity of Southgate's opinions while also defending the conditions for workers in Qatar.
"My question would be, who from the England squad has come to Qatar? My question to the coach is, has he been to Qatar? Is he basing his opinions and his public statements on what he has read?" Al Khater has told Sky Sports.
"Because it is kind of an issue if you're basing your opinions and you are very vocal about that based on things you have read. Somebody with a lot of influence, such as Southgate, somebody with a big audience that listens to what he says, ought to pick his words very carefully.
"And I think that before making statements like that, when it comes to the workers, he needs to come here and speak to workers and understand what workers get out of being here.
"There are isolated cases, those are the cases that make it to the media, however, I can assure him that if he comes here and speaks to the majority of the workers, they will tell you how they put their children through university, they will tell you how they've built their houses for them and their families.
"And these are the stories that nobody hears, so I look forward to welcoming him here, I look forward to meeting him at the draw and he can listen to my opinion, he does not have to believe it, but at least he needs to go that far to understand different opinions and different cultures.
"No country is perfect, let's get that right and I do not think anybody can claim that, so if somebody is coming and claiming they are a perfect country, they need to really take a look at themselves."
Al Khater added on the suggestion that LGBT groups may not feel safe in Qatar: "People need to understand Qatar is the safest country in the Middle East, it is the second safest country in the world.
"People will feel safe here. We have our culture, we have our norms, what we ask of them is to respect it. What that means is, whether you are a gay couple, whether you are a heterosexual couple, we have the same norms, we look at it the same way.
"So, all we ask is for people to be respectful, like we are respectful when we travel around the world, and basically just to observe these cultural differences. Basically what it means is public displays of affection is frowned upon, that is simply it."