From constant question marks over the way it won the right to host World Cup 2022 to allegations about the treatment of migrant workers who will be building the stadiums, Qatar probably did not need any more bad press.
But last week, a new controversy emerged. French-Algerian player Zahir Belounis who is based in Qatar wrote an emotional open letter to 2022 World Cup ambassadors Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola because Qatar refuses to grant him an exit visa.
Following a dispute with his club El-Jaish, Belounis' wages were stopped and he remains trapped in the Gulf state with his wife and kids, having sold most of his possessions to survive.
To discuss the case, Off The Ball spoke to The Guardian football journalist Amy Lawrence.
She explained that things were going well for Belhounis in Qatar early on until his club loaned him out to a lower division side once they achieved promotion.
"Then his wages dried up. He was about halfway through a five-year deal and suddenly they weren't honoring his contract," said Lawrence.
"It turned into the dispute and because of the kafala dispute, it means that the employer or sponsor is in charge of deciding if anyone from overseas can go or not by supplying an exit visa. There was a dispute so there was no exit visa. Unpaid, life has become unbelievably difficult for the last couple of years. Understandably he has become hugely depressed, stranded and alone."
FIFA has so far refused to intervene and that is also the case for large swathes of the football world who have remained silent on the issue, perhaps with the need to stay "friendly" with Qatar.
But despite the inaction of "football's leaders", there could be a resolution in the not too distant future.
"It is a simple humanitarian case," said Lawrence. "Are you going to let a guy and his young family leave the country? He hasn't seen his relatives in France since last year. A journalist said he was suicidal last week so grim were his prospects. The latest news is that the publicity and the inspired open letter to Zidane and Guardiola has raised the profile of the case in a really, really big way. There seemed to be renewed hopes that some sign of exit visa could be appearing in the next few days."
But it is unclear whether Belounis will get the two years of wages that he is owed.
