Swiss regulator says FIFA made false claims about Qatar being 'carbon-neutral' for World Cup

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FIFA made false claims about last year's World Cup in Qatar being carbon neutral, an advertising regulator in Switzerland said Wednesday.

FIFA was "not able to provide proof that the claims were accurate," the federally recognized Swiss Commission for Fairness said in its judgment into complaints filed from five countries.

The commission said it "advised FIFA to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims in the future. Particularly the claim that the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was climate- or carbon-neutral."

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People gather around the official countdown clock showing remaining time until the kick-off of the World Cup 2022, in Doha, Qatar, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. Fans going to the World Cup in Qatar must show a negative COVID-19 test when they arrive as part of the host nation’s rules to combat COVID-19, organizers said Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022.  (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)

FIFA said in a statement it would analyze the recommendations and had the right of appeal. The ruling is not legally binding.

Qatar spent more than $200 billion on a decade-long construction program of mostly air-conditioned projects to prepare for hosting the soccer tournament in the gas-rich emirate. It relied on using hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers working in widely criticized conditions.

Seven of the eight stadiums used — including one with a facade of shipping containers later to be dismantled — were built in and around Doha. A new city, Lusail, was constructed, including the stadium that staged the World Cup final.

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