A female World Cup official is facing a sentence of 100 lashes and up to seven years behind bars after complaining about being raped while working for the World Cup organising committee in Qatar.

The 2022 World Cup worker, named as Paola Schietekat, 28, from Mexico, has since left Qatar, but the charges against her still stand.

The economist and anthropologist was working for the World Cup organising committee when she alleged that she was raped by an associate who broke into her apartment and threatened to kill her.

She reported the attack to the Qatari authorities, which responded by accusing her of having an extramarital affair, according to local reports.

Schietekat was later told by lawyers that one way of avoiding conviction was to marry her attacker.

When she was told this, she decided to leave the country’s capital Doha to return home and lose what she called her dream job.

However, the charges against Schietekat are reportedly still valid, and the sentence is expected to be announced on 6th March.

If convicted, the rape victim could be sentenced to 100 lashes and seven years behind bars.

Qatar has been embroiled in scandals as the World Cup approaches, with reports of thousands of migrant workers dying in the country since it was awarded the tournament in 2010 and stinging criticism of the government’s human rights record.