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Football player Zahir Belounis (right) is welcomed by his mother as he arrives from Qatar at Paris' Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport on November 28, 2013. THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images
The 33-year-old, here holding one of his two young daughters, had not been able to leave Qatar after he filed a complaint against his club Al-Jaish over a payment dispute. THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images
Belounis had a two-year fight to secure an exit visa, leaving him stranded in the emirate with his wife Johanna and their children. Zahir Belounis
Belounis (right) held talks with French President Francois Hollande in June and claims he had been told he would receive his exit visa on October 21 -- it came more than a month later. Zahir Belounis
Qatar has promised a futuristic World Cup -- whichever month it is held in 2022. But at what price? Football Qatar Stadiums 7
According to United Nations figures it is estimated that 500 new immigrants arrive in the country every day -- many from the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia. Sean Gallup/Getty Images/File
Qatar faces a wait to find out whether the 2022 World Cup will be switched to the nation's winter. "The mistake was to think that we could play this competition easily in the summertime," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said. Maarwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images
The bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is being looked at by former New York attorney Michael Garcia, who is head of the investigative arm of FIFA's ethics committee. Garcia will visit all of the countries involved in the process, beginning in London. Getty Images/File