Xavi Sells Out to Qatar aka Chemical Xavi

Nanook said:
Iceland only has a population of 300,000, how many male construction workers between the ages of 20-40 are there? 5,000? So few that any figure is meaningless.

The average male construction worker in Qatar isn't dying, 45 out of every 100,000 are. Qatar has one of the highest obesity rates in the world, I'd love to see the death rates for normal Qatari men of that age, it might even be higher than 45.
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45 Nepalese workers out of every 100k is dying.

We also have migrant workers and we also have Icelandic people living outside of Iceland.

Qatar has one of the lowest death rates for males between the ages of 15-60 in the world as of 2013 from the numbers available.
 
Snow said:
45 Nepalese workers out of every 100k is dying.

We also have migrant workers and we also have Icelandic people living outside of Iceland.

Qatar has one of the lowest death rates for males between the ages of 15-60 in the world as of 2013 from the numbers available.
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So what is the death rate for males between 15-60 in Qatar?
 
Stack said:
If you had $20m in the bank you would have more than enough to secure grandchildren and great grand childrens future. However nobody owes grand children or great grand children anything.
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Yeah but what if he wants a G650? Or a yacht?

There is always something that requires more money.
 
Snow said:
~70. That's only Qatarain males though. edit: That's per 1000.
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Unless i'm mistaken, it's 7,000 deaths per 100,000 compared with just 45 for the construction workers? It's by no means a perfect comparison, although they do a more demanding job, the construction workers will be fit, young men mostly in the 20s and early 30s.

Obesity is quite common in Qatar and I would imagine a lot those 7,000 deaths are from guys between 40-60 so it's not really comparing the same age group. But still, if the figures are correct it shows just how few workers actually die in Qatar.
 
Initially I was appalled with the high number of deaths linked to the WC in Qatar. However after reading the stats posted by @rcoobc I'm much comfortable with it. 1,200 deaths out of 1.4m migrant workers over 4 years is less than 0.1% and the majority of the deaths are not workplace related. This is probably normal percentage, since people die - we might not like it, but dying is normal. I bet if we get statistics from any workplace we will get a similar numbers - I had a co-worker of mine die unexpectedly in his sleep a couple of years ago. In fact I bet that if we get the stats for the staff working on cruise ships the numbers will be higher.
 
Momochiru said:
Initially I was appalled with the high number of deaths linked to the WC in Qatar. However after reading the stats posted by @rcoobc I'm much comfortable with it. 1,200 deaths out of 1.4m migrant workers over 4 years is less than 0.1% and the majority of the deaths are not workplace related. This is probably normal percentage, since people die - we might not like it, but dying is normal. I bet if we get statistics from any workplace we will get a similar numbers - I had a co-worker of mine die unexpectedly in his sleep a couple of years ago. In fact I bet that if we get the stats for the staff working on cruise ships the numbers will be higher.
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That may be true, but expressing deaths in percentages and stats masks the inhumanity of the conditions and the horror we should feel at losing even a single life where it could have been prevented.
 
Americano said:
All his football dreams are coming true. Watching the U-17 Oman v Kuwait must be deeply inspirational.
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"What surprises me about Qatar is that they are football fanatics," he said. "Although they don't go to the stadium, on Monday they know all about everything, plus Madrid and Barca too."

:confused:
Does checking the news make you a fanatic? Also, surely the people he speaks to would be involved in football?
 
Nanook said:
Unless i'm mistaken, it's 7,000 deaths per 100,000 compared with just 45 for the construction workers? It's by no means a perfect comparison, although they do a more demanding job, the construction workers will be fit, young men mostly in the 20s and early 30s.

Obesity is quite common in Qatar and I would imagine a lot those 7,000 deaths are from guys between 40-60 so it's not really comparing the same age group. But still, if the figures are correct it shows just how few workers actually die in Qatar.
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Regardless of the death figures, the sponsorship laws in the gulf states are basically akin to forced labour and are totally immoral. That's enough of a reason alone to oppose Qatar. Just recently employers there confiscated passports and exit visas of their Nepalese employees so that they couldn't go home and bury family members who died in the earthquake. It reflects badly on Xavi no doubt that he has chosen to go to Qatar for the payday, it shows that he clearly just doesn't give a feck whatsoever. He's already absolutely loaded and it's not like he couldn't have gotten a decent MLS deal. £10 million a year in Qatar vs £5-7million lets say in MLS, on top of the £100 or so million he probably has already accumulated. Is it really worth it?
 
justboy68 said:
Regardless of the death figures, the sponsorship laws in the gulf states are basically akin to forced labour and are totally immoral. That's enough of a reason alone to oppose Qatar. Just recently employers there confiscated passports and exit visas of their Nepalese employees so that they couldn't go home and bury family members who died in the earthquake. It reflects badly on Xavi no doubt that he has chosen to go to Qatar for the payday, it shows that he clearly just doesn't give a feck whatsoever. He's already absolutely loaded and it's not like he couldn't have gotten a decent MLS deal. £10 million a year in Qatar vs £5-7million lets say in MLS, on top of the £100 or so million he probably has already accumulated. Is it really worth it?
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Xavi doesn't have anywhere near £100m, I think he was on something like €8m a year at Barca in his prime, if you include sponsorship deals he might have been earning a total of €10m. Spain's top tax rate is 50%, he probably has a net worth of around €25m-€30m, certainly enough to never have to worry about money again but I can see why a 3 contract worth €30m was very appealing to him.
 
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adexkola said:
That may be true, but expressing deaths in percentages and stats masks the inhumanity of the conditions and the horror we should feel at losing even a single life where it could have been prevented.
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Exactly. Deaths as a % of general population is the most bizarre way I've seen workers' rights discussed. Surely just the fact that you're using that measure shows that something is wrong?

Foreign maids, cleaners and other domestic workers are being subjected to slave-like labour conditions in Qatar, with many complaining they have been deprived of passports, wages, days off, holidays and freedom to move jobs, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

Hundreds of Filipino maids have fled to their embassy in recent months because conditions are so harsh. Many complain of physical and sexual abuse, harassment, long periods without pay and the confiscation of mobile phones.

The exploitation raises further concerns about labour practices in Qatar in advance of the World Cup, after Guardian reports about the treatment of construction workers. The maids are not directly connected to Qatar's preparations for the football tournament, but domestic workers will play a big role in staffing the hotels, stadiums and other infrastructure that will underpin the 2022 tournament.

Our investigation reveals:

• The Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) sheltered more than 600 runaway maids in the first six months of 2013 alone.

• Some workers say they have not been paid for months.

• Many housemaids do not get days off.

• Some contracts and job descriptions are changed once the workers arrive in Qatar.

• Women who report a sexual assault can be charged with illicit relations.

The non-payment of wages, confiscation of documents and inability of workers to leave their employer constitute forced labour under UN rules. According to the International Labour Organisation, forced labour is "all work which is exacted from someone under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily".

Lack of consent can include induced indebtedness and deception about the type and terms of work, withholding or non-payment of wages and the retention of identity documents. Initial consent may be considered irrelevant when deception or fraud has been used to obtain it.

"Menace of penalty" can include physical violence, deprivation of food and shelter, non-payment of wages, the inability to repay a loan, exclusion from future employment and removal of rights and privileges.

Modern-day slavery is estimated to affect up to 21 million people across the globe.

When the Guardian visited in January, at least 35 runaway maids had sought sanctuary at the POLO in the capital, Doha, which provides support to 200,000 Filipinos in Qatar. The welfare officer said most complained of pay being withheld, insufficient food, overwork and maltreatment. Some said they had endured verbal and physical abuse by sponsors of different nationalities.

Eight Filipino workers interviewed by the Guardian said they had not been paid for six months, were sometimes deprived of food while cleaning for long hours and had had their passports confiscated.

"We are afraid," said 28-year-old Jane*. "We don't really know what to do. We are trying to survive. That's why we do part-time jobs secretly." If they are caught breaching their contract, the maids face months in a deportation centre. The repatriation process is often delayed when people do not have their passports, according to James Lynch, Amnesty International's researcher on Gulf migrants' rights.

Qatar vigorously denies it is a "slave state" and is understood to be reviewing the controversial system that governs migrant labour, and to have stepped up inspections of businesses that use migrant labour. The Qatari labour ministry said in a statement: "We have clear laws and contractual terms in place to protect all people who live and work in Qatar and anyone found to have broken those laws will be prosecuted accordingly." It said that non-payment of wages and confiscation of passports were illegal in Qatar, and added: "The vast majority of workers in Qatar – domestic or otherwise – work amicably, save money and send this home to improve the economic situation of their families and communities in their home countries."

But the Philippines-based OFW (Overseas Foreign Workers) Watch, which supports Filipino migrant workers, said physical abuse, delayed and refused salaries, the misrepresentation of employers and contracts and passport confiscations were common issues in Qatar. The Guardian has already highlighted this malpractice in its investigation into the mistreatment of migrant workers as Qatar gears up for the 2022 World Cup.

As with the construction workers, the abuse of maids is systemic and brought into sharp focus by a lack of legal protection and the kafala sponsorship system, under which workers cannot leave the country or change jobs without their employer's permission, Lynch said.

"The women we've spoken to who have suffered abuses in the workplace, ranging from excessive working hours to physical violence, their employers came from a variety of countries," he added.

Many maids say they do not get any rest days and that employers confiscate their mobile phones.

Several recruitment agencies contacted by phone told a Guardian reporter pretending to be a would-be client that they routinely withheld the passports of their migrant workers. One agency volunteered that it was up to the sponsor whether the maid had a day off. "If you want to give an off day, let them rest at your house," an Al Hadeel Manpower representative said. "Don't give them free days outside because there is more problems outside."

Domestic workers are not covered by Qatar's labour laws and cannot challenge their contracts in court.

François Crépeau, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, said he was told during his eight-day visit to Doha in November that if some sponsors disliked the maid, they could have her arrested for theft. "These are all hearsay stories, but it was quite frequent," he said.

Crépeau, who will present a report of his Qatar trip to the UN in June, said he saw about 100 maids at the Philippine labour office waiting to be moved to the deportation centre, which housed about 1,300 people when he visited. He also visited the Central Prison, where he found women imprisoned with their babies as they served one-year sentences for adultery because they were unmarried.

Sharan Burrow, the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said some imprisoned babies were conceived when their mothers were raped by their employers.

The penalty for rape in Qatar is life imprisonment and, under some circumstances, death. Sexual harassment is illegal, but women who report such cases risk being charged with having illicit relations.

"They've become enslaved in Qatar, forced into abusive relationships, often become pregnant as a result of forced sexual relationships or rape and then the perpetrator has total power and refuses to sign an exit visa, so they end up imprisoned," Burrow said.

Crescente Relacion, the Philippine ambassador to Qatar, who declined to be interviewed but issued a written response to Guardian questions, said the embassy had assisted the fewer than five expatriates who had filed such charges with police in 2013. "Some victims have decided to settle amicably or not to file charges as doing so would significantly delay the repatriation," he said.

Case study
One runaway maid, Vanessa, fled to the Philippine women's shelter with only the clothes she was wearing because she said her employers of four years had cancelled her flight back home and confiscated her belongings for shouting at their children.

Vanessa said she had not had a day off in four years, but she did not regard playing with the children as work. She alleges the Indian mother of the family that employed her struck her because she did not want Vanessa to feed her infant son. "She hit my face because, yes, I admit that it's my fault because I fed the baby," she said. "What I didn't accept is that they took everything."

Among the items were precious photographs of her 10-year-old daughter, whom she has seen once during her only holiday, when she visited her mother in the Philippines in 2011, her mobile phone and 42,500 pesos (£580), she said. "Maybe they're telling to the police that I steal, but only God knows."

Because of the kafala system, Vanessa could not simply turn her back on her job or seek alternative employment. She is tethered to the employer via the sponsor who supports her migrant status in Qatar. She was faced with an unpleasant choice: tolerate the abuse or run away.
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Baffling that people are defending this.
 
It shows what money can do to individuals, much like the one ring of Sauron, money just corrupts people and this is just another example
 
Nanook said:
Unless i'm mistaken, it's 7,000 deaths per 100,000 compared with just 45 for the construction workers? It's by no means a perfect comparison, although they do a more demanding job, the construction workers will be fit, young men mostly in the 20s and early 30s.

Obesity is quite common in Qatar and I would imagine a lot those 7,000 deaths are from guys between 40-60 so it's not really comparing the same age group. But still, if the figures are correct it shows just how few workers actually die in Qatar.
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It doesn't show that. Construction isn't the most dangerous job in the world. Far from it. You shouldn't die do it. And again 45 is the number for Nepalese workers. It's not the total. You should look at how many Nepalese workers are dying compared to Qatarian workers.

We're only talking young men between the ages of 20-40 doing one kind of job dying here. They're not even working in coal mines. In the US in 1913 they had 61 work related deaths for each 100k. 1913. Stuff like steel mills, lumberjacks, construction. Seen the pictures of those guys building the skyscrapers in New York without a safety harness? Not that uncommon in 1913. Still less deaths than in Qatar now 100 years later. Between 1933 and 1997 the workforce in the US triples but the deaths decreased by 90%. In '97 it was 4 deaths from unintentional work-related injuries per 100.000. And you say Iceland is too small to be comparable? I'd say it's pretty comparable.

Bottom line is, you shouldn't die doing your job and in Qatar there are too many deaths which are related to poor conditions of workers. People have died from dehydration. That's not right.
 
Snow said:
It doesn't show that. Construction isn't the most dangerous job in the world. Far from it. You shouldn't die do it. And again 45 is the number for Nepalese workers. It's not the total. You should look at how many Nepalese workers are dying compared to Qatarian workers.
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Well we don't have the numbers, how many Qataris even do that sort of construction work? The death rates for foreign workers probably slightly higher but I doubt it's many times higher.

We're only talking young men between the ages of 20-40 doing one kind of job dying here. They're not even working in coal mines. In the US in 1913 they had 61 work related deaths for each 100k. 1913. Stuff like steel mills, lumberjacks, construction. Seen the pictures of those guys building the skyscrapers in New York without a safety harness? Not that uncommon in 1913. Still less deaths than in Qatar now 100 years later.
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Less deaths? Look at the table rcoobc posted, you're comparing work related deaths to all deaths. 277 Indians died in Qatar in 2014 of which only 14 were work related, the work related deaths are nowhere near 61 per 100,000. Of course some of the none work related deaths will actually be work related because of the conditions they live and work in but how many exactly is impossible to say. There are over a million foreign workers there, even if they were treated perfectly hundreds would die every year from natural causes. Indian workers are less likely to die in Qatar than they are in India.

In '97 it was 4 deaths from unintentional work-related injuries per 100.000. And you say Iceland is too small to be comparable? I'd say it's pretty comparable.
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It's not the number of deaths that's the problem, it's the number of construction workers. There's probably less than 15,000 in total in Iceland.
 
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Nanook said:
Well we don't have the numbers, how many Qataris even do that sort of construction work? The death rates for foreign workers probably slightly higher but I doubt it's many times higher.



Less deaths? Look at the table rcoobc posted, you're comparing work related deaths to all deaths. 277 Indians died in Qatar in 2014 of which only 14 were work related, the work related deaths are nowhere near 61 per 100,000. Of course some of the none work related deaths will actually be work related because of the conditions they live and work in but how many exactly is impossible to say. There are over a million foreign workers there, even if they were treated perfectly hundreds would die every year from natural causes. Indian workers are less likely to die in Qatar than they are in India.
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Impossible to talk to you about this. You keep on using words like 'only'. Are people constantly dying where you live? You really find this normal?

Look. These people are between 20-40. That bracket hasn't got many fatalities because of natural causes. Probably more murders/suicides than people dying from heart attacks or brain aneurysms. If they had access to water, AC, soap and medical care I guarantee you that the number would decrease drastically.
 
Snow said:
Impossible to talk to you about this. You keep on using words like 'only'. Are people constantly dying where you live? You really find this normal?
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People probably are dying a lot where I live, it's just I don't hear about them, unless it was really close to me why would I? Remember there are about 700,000 Nepalese and Indian workers in Qatar, is a few hundred deaths per year that abnormal?

Look. These people are between 20-40. That bracket hasn't got many fatalities because of natural causes. Probably more murders/suicides than people dying from heart attacks or brain aneurysms. If they had access to water, AC, soap and medical care I guarantee you that the number would decrease drastically.
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What about car accidents? Certainly better conditions would help but I don't think the death rates would dramatically decrease, I think most of the deaths are none work related, not directly or indirectly.
 
Nanook said:
People probably are dying a lot where I live, it's just I don't hear about them, unless it was really close to me why would I? Remember there are about 700,000 Nepalese and Indian workers in Qatar, is a few hundred deaths per year that abnormal?



What about car accidents? Certainly better conditions would help but I don't think the death rates would dramatically decrease, I think most of the deaths are none work related, not directly or indirectly.
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None of these people are driving.

You're looking at it too literally. The point that Brown Toothpick raised earlier (the one that I slated him for because he did it wrongly IMO) was that most of these deaths aren't work-related in that sense that they are walking with cement bags between places and a hammer from above drops on their head and kills them. The probably do have helmets and there probably are work safety guidelines (which are probably also poorly enforced). The number of work-related deaths is pretty high still but the biggest problem is the way these people are treated. Where they are living, their salaries, passport taken away. They don't have much water and they sleep in cramped spaces (Guardian reporter walked into small rooms with 8 people in them) with no air conditioning or much water (it's over 40°C in Qatar every day in the summer). With all that it's easy to assume that their meals aren't very nutritious either.
 
When you win everything in your career (repeatedly, no less), no shame in being put out to stud. Enjoy Maestro

Xavi-Hernandez.jpg
 
FCBarca said:
When you win everything in your career (repeatedly, no less), no shame in being put out to stud. Enjoy Maestro

Xavi-Hernandez.jpg
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No shame?

fecking hell, he's acting as an ambassador for a country that is virtually using slaves to build their World Cup despite being mega rich and those slaves are dying at a rate of one every other day.


No shame at all. Once you've had a successful career it's perfectly respectful to sell your soul to the Devil.

It tells me he's either disconnected from the real world after spending his life in a professional football bubble or he's actually an asshole.
 
No chance of irrational takes in here I see, now he's an ambassador to slavery & oppression

I say whatever you're taking, up the dosage
 
FCBarca said:
When you win everything in your career (repeatedly, no less), no shame in being put out to stud. Enjoy Maestro
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I hope you enjoy having your stadium renamed "Qatar Airways Moneygrab". There's no shame in taking their dirty money. Carry on.

http://www.cityam.com/224474/barcel...ing-rights-will-fans-accept-new-qatar-airways

Executives from Barcelona have travelled to Qatar this week to discuss a controversial sponsorship deal that could see their stadium renamed - but fans may not be entirely happy with seeing their home renamed the Qatar Airways stadium.

Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and vice-president Manel Arroyo were in Doha this week to negotiate with Qatar Airways, whose exisiting sponsorship of Barcelona's shirt has upset many fans in Catalonia.

Barcelona have been associated with Qatar since 2010, first by sporting the Gulf state's Qatar Foundation on their kit and then Qatar Airways from 2013/14 onwards in a deal worth £25m a year.
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He's entitled to take a huge payout. 99% of all of us would take that money.

But to go on and talk utter shit about Qatar being football mad is embarrassing. Just take your money and go about your business.

Also, I've seen a short documentary about Xavi being a down to earth and humble guy that still lives with his family in the same house he grew up in. All of this embassador bullshit seems totally out of character.
 
People are winding up so much about this, totally unnecessary. Why do you care so much that Xavi sold himself to Qatar? It's life, famous people only see dollar signs just like I would. Why would you be the only holy kid in class when nobody else gives a damn? Sounds really harsh I'm sure but you can't change the world on your own and even if you as a celebrity would have said publicly "I do not condone what happens in Qatar and I refuse to be ambassador for them", that wouldn't make any difference too. People will praise you for 2 days and then forget about it because they moved on and in the end you lost potential millions for nothing.
 
VorZakone said:
Why do you care so much that Xavi sold himself to Qatar?
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Why stop at Qatar? Sell yourself to the mafia, they have plenty of money.

It's a stain on him as a person and and a stain on Barcelona. There are plenty of sponsors that would happily pay them, and many clubs for him to play for, but they choose to associate with Qatar.
 
VorZakone said:
People are winding up so much about this, totally unnecessary. Why do you care so much that Xavi sold himself to Qatar? It's life, famous people only see dollar signs just like I would. Why would you be the only holy kid in class when nobody else gives a damn? Sounds really harsh I'm sure but you can't change the world on your own and even if you as a celebrity would have said publicly "I do not condone what happens in Qatar and I refuse to be ambassador for them", that wouldn't make any difference too. People will praise you for 2 days and then forget about it because they moved on and in the end you lost potential millions for nothing.
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Hm. So, let's get this straight: Both famous people (like Xavi) and Internet halfwits (like you - and me, don't forget that now, me too) will inevitably take the dollars, 'cause we see only the dollar signs, regardless of anything like...morals, social conscience, political and/or historical awareness, basic feckin' decency and/or intelligence - which means that threads like this one are pointless, or even hypocritical.

That is yer point? Yes? No? Don't bother to answer unless you enclose a tenner (dollars), 'cause I don't want to waste my time on anything which doesn't spell moo-laah.
 
Americano said:
Why stop at Qatar? Sell yourself to the mafia, they have plenty of money.

It's a stain on him as a person and and a stain on Barcelona. There are plenty of sponsors that would happily pay them, and many clubs for him to play for, but they choose to associate with Qatar.
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Yeah when his contract runs out with Qatar I am sure he'll choose some other sponsor. And no one is perfect, we wear shoes and clothes designed by people in awful working conditions.
 
Instead of winding yourselves up on Xavi and how much he earns in his retirement days, why not petition to end the partnership between your club and Commercial Bank of Qatar, who fund plenty of the WC projects?
 
FCBarca said:
Gringo with the temerity to lecture about taking dirty money - irony, they don't teach that it in the US educational system anymore than they do a host of issues concerning humanity
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You guys are crafty. I like the way you used UNICEF as a charity shirt sponsor to pave the way for Qatar(i Foundation).

When this shirt deal runs out, maybe North Korea will outbid them?
 
VorZakone said:
Yeah when his contract runs out with Qatar I am sure he'll choose some other sponsor. And no one is perfect, we wear shoes and clothes designed by people in awful working conditions.
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The sad thing is? that is what money does to some people, the chance to fatten the bank balance many will do it. look at bankers its amazing how they can sleep every night, but they do
 
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Stack said:
If you had $20m in the bank you would have more than enough to secure grandchildren and great grand childrens future. However nobody owes grand children or great grand children anything.
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No. But if you grow up poor trust me you'd do anything within legal bounds to make cash.

Why do we get so annoyed when footballers go to the middle east to get a big payday? Thousands of British 'expats' do the same thing working for Oil companies and infrastructure firms which exploit people just as much. I'd bet a good few Caf members and/or their family members have worked in the middle east. Get in , get the cash and run as long as it's legal.
 
Sad to see him promote a country which is virtually sustained by modern slavery.

I wonder, is he genuinely gullible or just cynical?

I sometimes wonder why I bother following football.
 
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