Swiss Olympian Kicked Off Team After Sending Racist Tweet

[News_Editor]

Swiss Olympian kicked off team after sending racist tweet < br />

2012-08-01 01:00:44 GMT+7 (ICT)

LONDON, ENGLAND (BNO NEWS) -- A Swiss football star was kicked off the men's Olympic team Monday after sending out a tweet deemed to be racist, sports officials said. It comes just days after a Greek triple jumper was excluded from the Olympics after another tweet deemed to be racist.

Michel Morganella, a Swiss footballer who was included on the Olympic team as a defender, made comments on his Twitter account which were considered to the discriminatory against the South Korean population. The tweet, which was in French, told Koreans to 'burn themselves' and called them a 'bunch of tards'. He has since deleted his account.

In response to the offensive tweet, the Swiss Olympic Association decided, in consultation with the Swiss Football Association, to exclude Morganella from the Swiss delegation.

"Michel Morganella has made extremely offensive remarks on his Twitter channel, with the South Korean population and the South Korean football team most deeply offended and discriminated against," the Swiss Olympic Association said in a statement on late Monday. "We condemn these statements, which grossly contradict the Olympic Charter, the IOC and the Ethics Charter of the Swiss Olympic."

In response to the decision, Morganella, who plays for the Swiss team Palermo, released a statement of his own, saying: "After the disappointing result and the following responses from Korea, I've made ​​a big mistake. I'm truly sorry for the people of South Korea, for the footballers, but also for the Swiss delegation and the Swiss football in general. Of course, I bear the consequences."

Any further penalties against him will be decided at a later time.

Just days earlier, on Wednesday, which was two days before the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London, Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou was excluded from the Olympics as well after she tweeted "with so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile mosquitoes will be eating food from their own home."

In response to that tweet, The Democratic Left, a political party in Greece, said: "racist humor and 'jokes' concerning human lives are not tolerated by the Greek society, can not thrive in Greek athletics. The least the Greek Olympic Committee can do now is to revoke Ms Voula Papachristou from the Olympic Games. Watching the Olympics on TV screen, she could do as many vile 'jokes' she wants through the social media. But for sure, she can not represent Greece in London."

Papachristou later apologized in a statement on her Twitter account. "I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account," she said. "I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights."

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-08-01

[koheesti]

So Twitter tweets have cost two athletes shots at their dreams, UK police arrested someone for insulting an Olympic diver via a tweet and I read where some reporter got in trouble for tweets criticizing the American network showing the games. I'm glad I only used Twitter once years ago. I should go delete my account just in case.

[endure]

So Twitter tweets have cost two athletes shots at their dreams, UK police arrested someone for insulting an Olympic diver via a tweet and I read where some reporter got in trouble for tweets criticizing the American network showing the games. I'm glad I only used Twitter once years ago. I should go delete my account just in case.

The tweeter didn't just insult the diver - he threatened to drown him according to the UK newspapers.

[KeyserSoze01]

George Orwell would be proud as the thought police have finally taken control.

[endure]

Making death threats is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment in the UK.

[meatballs]

How is that racist?

Sounds like some PC BS from overreacting people.

[submaniac]

I agree. The stuff about South Korea I don't think is racist. Racism implies an attack on a race, such as all Asian people. This is an attack on a particular country. Quite frankly we attack lots of countries on Thaivisa.

[Credo]

The Olympics are a very international event, so I would suspect that remarks against racist, specific nations etc. would be dealt with more severely.

[Steely Dan]

George Orwell would be proud as the thought police have finally taken control.

Quite so. Twitter by very nature of it's immediacy allow people to make off the cuff remarks before engaging brain, which should really warrant no further repercussions than a bit of banter would down the pub. A far more serious related case saw a judge overturning the prosecution of a man who apparently tweeted a threat to blow up an airport where the context made it clear to anyone with a brain that the man was joking. I think the judge even used the words 'stazi' when referring to the prosecution.

[coma]