German cycling racist comment towards Algerian riders has been sent home from the Tokyo Olympics.
Patrick Moster was caught urging rider Nikias Arndt to ‘catch the camel drivers’ as he chased down Algerian and Eritrean rivals after ‘violating Olympic values’ in the time trial.
The German has been suspended and will be sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after using a racist slur during the men’s time trial.
German cycling federation sports director Patrick Moster had been overseeing the cycling squad at the Tokyo Games.
He used the slur while urging German rider Nikias Arndt to catch up to riders from the African nations of Algeria and Eritrea during Wednesday’s time trial. It was heard on TV broadcasts and widely condemned in Germany.
What did Moster say?
As Arndt chased down his opponents during the men’s road time trial, Moster was shouting out words of encouragement. Yet his encouragement turned unsavoury as he screamed, “Get the camel drivers!” multiple times.
Arndt was attempting to make ground on Algeria’s Azzedine Lagab and Eritrea’s Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier.
The vision and audio were broadcast on live television, with ARD commentator Florian Nass left gobsmacked as he reacted: “If I’ve really understood what he was shouting, that was totally wrong.”
“Words fail me,” Nass added. “Something like that has no place in sport.”
German cycling racist comment towards African riders
Moster later apologized and the German team initially indicated he would stay in Tokyo, but on Thursday they announced that he would be sent home.
German Olympic committee president Alfons Hörmann said he considers Moster’s apology to be “sincere” but that he “breached the Olympic values.”
Hörmann added that “fair play, respect and tolerance … are non-negotiable” for the German team.
Tokyo Olympics Respond
The International Olympic Committee, whose president Thomas Bach is German, welcomed the decision to send Moster home and said it had “inquired about the issue” with the German team before the decision was announced.
Algerian rider Azzedine Lagab told the German news outlet, Der Spiegel, that he had not received a personal apology from Moster or the German team. Lagab added he had repeatedly faced racist comments during his career.
Fierce backlash
BDR President Rudolf Scharping said the comments were “unacceptable,” while German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) president Alfons Hörmann said the organization stood for “respect, fair play and tolerance.”
Arndt, who finished 19th in the time trial, distanced himself from the comments via social media, saying he was “appalled” by the incident.
“Such words are not acceptable,” he wrote on Instagram
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