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STORY: The government of Qatar says it has launched a safety investigation into the death of a worker, after reports that a Filipino contractor had died at a World Cup training site.

The World Cup this year has been marked by controversy over treatment of migrant workers there.

An online sports publication, The Athletic, reported Wednesday (December 7) that the contractor was hired to fix lights in a car park, when he slipped off a ramp walking alongside a vehicle, and fell headfirst onto concrete.

Nasser Al Khater, the Chief Executive of the Doha games, confirmed a worker death without giving specifics, and told Reuters this:

"So, we’re in the FIFA Masters. We’re in the middle of a World Cup. And we have a successful World Cup. And this is something you want to talk about right now? I mean, death is a natural part of life, whether it’s at work, whether it’s in your sleep. Of course, a worker died. Our condolences go to his family. However, I mean it is strange that this is something you want to focus on as your first question.”

“Look, workers’ death has been a big subject during the World Cup. Everything that has been said and everything that has been reflected about workers’ deaths has been absolutely false. This theme, this negativity around the World Cup has been something that we’ve been faced with, unfortunately. We’re a bit disappointed that the journalists have been exacerbating this false narrative. And honestly, you know, I think a lot of the journalists have to ask themselves and reflect on why they’ve been trying to bang on about the subject for so long.”

Khater said they make sure workers families receive benefits in the event of an accident.

The number of work-related deaths in Qatar is disputed.

The Guardian newspaper reported last year that at least 6,500 migrant workers, many of them working on World Cup projects, had died since since Qatar first became host.

Qatar's government said the number of deaths was proportionate to the size of the migrant workforce, included many people who weren't manual laborers, and that only three work-related deaths had happened on projects related to the games; adding that every life lost was a tragedy.