Olympics commentator sacked after making racist comment on air

A commentator covering the Tokyo Olympics for state television in Greece has been sacked after making a racist remark on-air towards a South Korean athlete.

The remark was made after a table tennis match, in which South Korea’s Jeoung Young-sik defeated Greece’s Panagiotis Gionis.

Following the conclusion of the match against Gionis, the Greek coverage turned back to the studio.

Guest commentator Dimosthenis Karmiris then made the racist remark when asked about the skill of the South Korean players.

He said: “As their eyes are slitty, how can they watch the ball coming and going?”

Karmiris can then be seen laughing after uttering the comment.

Hours after the shocking remark, state broadcaster ERT announced that the commentator had been sacked immediately after the conclusion of the programme.

They stated: “Racist comments have no place on public television.

“The collaboration between ERT and Dimosthenis Karmiris was terminated today, immediately after the morning show.”

After a slow start to the match, in which he lost three of the opening four games, Jeoung bounced back and won 4-3.

He triumphed 12-10 and 11-6 in games five and six. The match was then taken to a decisive tie break in game seven. Jeoung triumphed by 14 points to 12 in what was the longest game of the match.

The 29-year-old progressed to the men’s singles quarter-final. He was defeated by a score of 4-0 by China’s world number one Fan Zhendong.

He is set to compete in the table tennis team event, which begins on Sunday.

Featured Image Credit: ERT

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