Performers perform during the opening ceremony prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group A match between Qatar and Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium on November 20, 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar. Photo: VCG

FIFA President Gianni Infantino accused critics of World Cup host Qatar's treatment of migrant workers of hypocrisy on Saturday.

In lengthy, and sometimes angry, opening remarks at a news conference on the eve of the start of the ­tournament, Infantino rounded on European critics of the host nation over the issues of migrant workers and LGBT rights.

"I am European. For what we have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons," he said.

"I have difficulties understanding the criticism. We have to invest in helping these people, in education and to give them a better future and more hope. We should all educate ourselves, many things are not perfect but reform and change takes time.

"This one-sided moral lesson is just hypocrisy."

Infantino drew on his own ­experience as the child of migrant workers growing up in Switzerland, saying he had been bullied for being Italian and for having red hair and freckles.

"I know what it feels to be discriminated [against], I know what it's like to be bullied," he said.

"What do you do? You start engaging, this is what we should be doing... The only way of getting results is by engaging."

Qatar has said that it is a welcoming country that does not discriminate against people and has denied accusations of abuse of workers.

Infantino said he had received assurances from the highest level of the Qatari government that LGBT people would be welcomed in the country for the World Cup.

Same-sex relations are illegal and punishable by up to three years of jail time in Qatar. Some football stars have raised concerns over the rights of fans traveling for the event, especially LGBT+ individuals and women, whom rights groups say Qatari laws discriminate against.

In an extraordinary end to the news conference, Bryan Swanson, FIFA's director of media relations, took the microphone to defend Infantino.

"I've seen a lot of criticism of Gianni Infantino since I've joined FIFA, in particular from the LGBTI community," he said.

"I'm sitting here in a privileged position on a global stage as a gay man here in Qatar. He has received assurances that everyone will be welcome... Just because Gianni Infantino is not gay, does not mean he does not care. He does care."