Abdullah Ibhais did not watch a single match of the 2022 World Cup. In a previous life, the tournament would have been the high point of his professional career, but languishing in a Qatari jail, Ibhais could not bear witnessing the four-week football extravaganza playing out in the Gulf nation…

During his more than three-year imprisonment, Ibhais experienced many low points…

In November 2021, Ibhais, then deputy communications director for the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar’s local organizing committee, was arrested over accusations of fraud involving a tender. He had, however, raised concerns about the treatment of workers…Hassan Al Thawadi, the general secretary of the Supreme Committee, ordered that the story be spun, according to Norwegian magazine Josimar…

Ibhais always maintained his innocence. In March 2025, he was reunited with his family in Amman, Jordan, where he lives. He says he intends to sue his former employer, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, as well as FIFA. The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, FIFA and the State of Qatar did not respond to questions for this article…

Ibhais explained: “I will try to hold them accountable for what they did to me, of course, but I will also try to hold them accountable for their own guidelines…

“FIFA’s head of human rights, Andreas Graf, replied after Adidas endorsed me...