اخبار العرب-كندا 24: الخميس 1 أغسطس 2024 03:49 مساءً
The Olympics are never short on controversy and scandal, and Paris has been no different so far. From opening ceremony shenanigans, to polluted water, drone-spying, sexist remarks by commentators, and hijab bans, here are the stories that are stealing the headlines at the 2024 Paris Olympics for all the wrong reasons.
The French association of women sports journalists and the union of sports journalists in France have have condemned other sexist remarks made by a commentator during a women’s tennis match in Paris.
At some point during the event, an RMC radio announcer blurted: “On the left, there’s Sara Errani, who’s the boss. She does everything: the washing up, the cooking, the mopping up.”
In a joint statement released Thursday, both unions wrote: "sexist and misogynistic comments have no place in an international competition," while recalling the sanctions handed down to Eurosport's Ballard after his remarks on Saturday.
Earlier in the Olympics, Ballard was removed from Eurosport’s Olympic commentary team after the former BBC reporter made inappropriate comments during the broadcast of the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay final.
Immediately after the Australian team won the gold medal and team members were leaving the pool deck, Ballard said the women swimmers were "finishing up" and "you know what women are like... hanging around, doing their make-up," according to a report from the BBC.
Eurosport was quick to condemn Ballard, removing him from the broadcast team immediately.
"During a segment of Eurosport’s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment," Eurosport wrote in a statement. "To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect."
Contaminated Seine River causes headaches despite $1.5-billion clean-up
After countless delays, billions of dollars spent and a whole lot of stress, Paris' Seine River is finally fit for competition.
Woman triathletes completed the swimming portion of the event on Wednesday morning, marking the first Olympic event in the Seine in 124 years. It was also the first time swimmers were allowed to (legally) swim in the much-maligned river in about a century.
In fitting fashion, it was a French woman who claimed gold in the monumental event, with Cassandre Beugrand taking top spot with a time of 1:54:55. On the men's side, It was Great Britain's Alex Yee taking gold with a time of 1:43.33, while France's Leo Bergere took bronze.
Fans, of course, had some fun with the debacle.
On Monday, the swim portion of an Olympic triathlon training session was cancelled for the second consecutive day because of the ongoing water-quality issues in the Seine.
Tuesday, however, saw the organizers' worst fears come to light as City of Paris representatives, along with World Triathlon officials, were forced to postpone the men's triathlon event because the water quality in the Seine was still awful.
"Paris 2024 and World Triathlon reiterate that their priority is the health of the athletes. The tests carried out in the Seine [Tuesday] revealed water quality levels that did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held," the joint statement read, in part.
Heavy rain last week reportedly increased pollution levels and sped up the current, rendering the water unsafe for swimming. Olympic organizers said they were "confident" the swimming portion of both the men's and women's triathlon events would not be affected with the men set to begin Tuesday and the women set to hit the water on Wednesday. That, however, was always far from a guarantee.
Paris spent a whopping $1.5 billion ahead of these Olympics to clean and treat the water for the triathlon and marathon swimming events, but heavy downpours over the weeks and days ahead of the 2024 Games had caused bacteria levels to spike once again.
Canada women's soccer embroiled in drone-spying controversy
The biggest sports-related controversy of Paris so far went down before the 2024 Games even began, with the Canadian women's soccer team at the centre of a drone-spying scandal that has stolen the headlines early on.
A Canadian analyst was caught flying a drone over a closed New Zealand training session ahead of their Olympic-opening match last Thursday. The staffer in question was detained and eventually sent home from the Olympics after police raided the staffer's hotel room and recovered the footage.
FIFA investigations followed and eventually resulted in heavy punishments for the Canadian side, including a massive fine for Canada Soccer, one-year bans for three of Canada's coaches including head coach Bev Priestman, and a six-point deduction to be implemented during the group stage of this Olympic women's soccer competition.
Priestman, in a statement released through her lawyer, apologized "from the bottom of my heart" for the impact the situation has had on Canada's players. She also took accountability for the scandal and said she plans to fully co-operate with the investigation. On Sunday, July 28, Canadian sports minister Carla Qualtrough said the federal government will be withholding some of Canada Soccer's funding in light of the scandal.
The Canadian Olympic Committee, along with Canada Soccer — the nation's governing body for the sport — appealed FIFA's six-point penalty over the weekend. On Tuesday, however, The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed Canada's appeal, meaning the six-pint deduction will stand.
"The application filed by the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Soccer (the Applicants) in relation to the six-point deduction imposed on the Canadian women’s soccer team for the football tournament at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 has been dismissed," a statement from the CAS read.
"The Applicants sought a decision from the CAS Ad hoc Division either cancelling or reducing the points deduction imposed by the FIFA Appeal Committee in its decision of 27 July 2024 after it established that breaches of the FIFA regulations applicable to the Olympic football tournament concerning the prohibition on flying drones over training sites had occurred."
In a positive twist for the Canadian side, the team pulled off the improbable rally despite the hefty six-point deduction, defeating Colombia 1-0 on Wednesday to finish the group stage 3-0 — finishing second in Group A and advancing to the quarterfinals. The Canadians will now face Germany in the quarterfinals.
Controversial opening ceremony imagery causes a stir
There was a lot going on during last Friday's opening ceremony, from the first-of-its-kind boat parade, to terrible weather, to Celine Dion rallying the masses with her first live performance in five years as she trudges through serious health issues.
What caused the biggest stir, however, was none of the above. During a controversial tableau, dancers and drag queens gathered around a table in a scene many believed to be eerily similar to Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting of Jesus Christ and the 12 apostles.
Following the performance, some flooded to social media, labelling the performance “insulting to Christian people,” and a “mockery” among other things. Others celebrated the imagery as a win for inclusivity and the LGBTQ+ community.
On Sunday, amid the backlash, Paris 2024 spokesperson Anne Descamps apologized “if people have taken any offence” to the imagery.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think that (artistic director) Thomas Jolly really tried to celebrate community tolerance,” Descamps “We believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence, we are really sorry.”
The opening ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, has also said that da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” portrait was not the inspiration behind the show. Jolly said he was actually inspired by Greek mythology and the Feast of Dionysus — the Greek god of wine.
“In France, we have the right to love each other, as we want and with who we want. In France, we have the right to believe or to not believe. In France, we have a lot of rights. Voila,” said Jolly.
“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly added. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”
The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops, however, lamented what it called “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity,” adding:
"Our thoughts are with all the Christians from all continents who were hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”
Christians weren't the only only ones flocking to social media to voice their displeasure over the display, as conservative politicians, including former U.S. president Donald Trump, chimed in.
“I thought that the opening ceremony was a disgrace, actually,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, right wing French politician Marion Maréchal chimed in, adding "know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation."
On Tuesday, the opening ceremony's DJ, Barbara Butch's lawyer told The Associated Press that she has filed a formal legal complaint alleging she's received "cyber-harassment, death threats, and insults" in the wake of her performance on Friday.
Athletes, countries speak out over France's Olympic hijab ban
Olympians from France and beyond have been vocally outraged over the country's rules prohibiting French athletes participating in certain sports from wearing the hijab or religious headscarves during the Paris Games.
French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla, who says she was told she wouldn't be allowed to participate in last Friday's opening ceremony because of her hijab, took to social media a couple days before the 2024 Olympics began to blast the country's controversial rule.
"You are selected for the Olympics, organized in your country, but you can't participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf," Sylla posted on her private Instagram account, according to various reports.
Sylla's comments were just the latest to condemn France's hijab rules, which states Olympic athletes, while competing for France, are considered civil servants and "must adhere to principles of secularism," according to ABC News.
On Sunday, Australian boxer Tina Rahimi spoke out against France’s hijab ban, writing on her Instagram account: “Women have the right to choose how they want to dress. With or without hijab. I choose to wear the hijab as a part of my religion and I am proud to do so."
A coalition of groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to the IOC condemning the headwear ban.
“The bans imposed by the French sports authorities are discriminatory and prevent Muslim athletes who decide to wear the hijab from exercising their human right to play sport without discrimination of any kind," the letter read.
“The bans also fly in the face of the human rights requirements for host countries and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights, as well as being antithetical to the fundamental principles of Olympism.”
Investigations underway over alleged racist posts, anti-Semitic displays
British women's rugby sevens player Amy Wilson-Hardy, who is under a racism investigation, sat out her team's 19-15 upset loss to China on Tuesday — the final day of the Olympic tournament in Paris.
Team officials said Wilson-Hardy was not under suspension and that her place was taken by an injury replacement.
British publication The Independent reported on Tuesday that a screen shot of what appeared to be a WhatsApp message from Wilson-Hardy appeared on Instagram, with the person posting it alleging its contents to be racist.
“The British Olympic Association has been made aware of an image published on a social media platform and is investigating the matter,” said a BOA spokesperson.
Meanwhile, a group of Pro-Palestinian activists are under investigation after they appeared to use "anti-Semitic gestures" during Israel’s national anthem ahead of a men’s soccer match against Paraguay on Saturday.
The video that surfaced Monday also showed spectators waiving Palestinian flags and shouting an indistinguishable chant. Pictures had previously circulated of the group holding two banners with the words "Genocide Olympics" scrawled across them.
"Paris 2024 strongly condemns these acts. A complaint has been lodged by Paris 2024, which is at the disposal of the authorities to assist with the investigation," read a statement from Olympic organizers.
"We obviously deplore that," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams on Tuesday. "It has no place in sport, it has no place amongst the watching fans."
This comes in light of a judoka from Tajikistan, Nurali Emomali, appeared to skip the customary post-match handshake after defeating Israeli opponent Tohar Butbul in the round of 16 on Sunday.
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