A controversy is raging over the commentary on an Asian Football Confederation under-23 (U23) qualifying match by Freedom Sports, a live streaming match-reporting service, which left some fans upset and led to recriminations in Taiwan’s soccer community.
In the game between hosts Taiwan and Myanmar at the Kaohsiung National Stadium on Friday last week, a female commentator working for broadcaster Freedom Sports was said to be unprofessional, lacking relevant soccer knowledge and guilty of making several vacuous comments about Burmese players.
The reporter’s commentary spurred a barrage of complaints, and debate between irate fans, Freedom Sports officials and local media, who accused the woman in question of a “racist game commentary.” Some netizens said they would be reporting the incident to the Asian Football Confederation.
The reporter said: “Myanmar, we are not sure what kind of country that is... It seems like their players train by running on grass pastures all day long and digging up yams to eat.”
When the visitors took the lead in the 29th minute, she allegedly said: “They just scored a goal, finished by No. 6. What is his name? That is not very important.”
As it turned out, the Myanmar No. 6 player — 18-year-old Hlaing Bo Bo, who plays for FC Yadanarbon of Mandalay — was important and his name might be remembered by Taiwanese fans for some time, because he scored either side of the break, leading his team to a 3-0 victory over the hosts.
Hlaing’s brace damaged Taiwan’s chance of advancing. The home side had hoped to win the key opening match, as beating Australia, the top-rated team in the group, seemed unlikely. The U23 Socceroos indeed proved too strong for Taiwan, hammering the hosts 4-0 on Sunday.
The distasteful remarks by the Freedom Sports reporter served to highlight her unprofessional approach, lack of pre-match preparation, ignorance of the game’s nuances and stereotyped opinions, local soccer fans said.
Local Taiwanese media yesterday referred to a “game broadcaster in a perceived racism row against the Myanmar team.”
One soccer fan even set up a Web site titled “Say No to Racism — We strongly condemn racist commentary in soccer broadcasting” to publicize the incident and demanded an apology from the live streaming service company.
It was reported that the commentator on Friday apologized on air toward the end of the game, saying that she did not have an in-depth understanding of the game, was unable to do a good job and will likely not be doing soccer reporting in the future.
However, over the weekend, Freedom Sports took a tough stance on the issue, as company officials accused soccer journalists and netizens of sensationalizing the incident, saying: “The comments were only said in jest. We will still use the same set of broadcasters for upcoming matches — if fans do not like it, then people can do the live streaming reports themselves.”
A Chinese Taipei Football Association spokesperson said Freedom Sports is not the official authorized broadcaster for the Asian U23 qualifiers in Taiwan, that there was no official authorization given and that the public should appreciate the company investing money and resources to bring online live streaming services of these games for the fans.
Freedom Sports finally issued an official apology yesterday afternoon, saying: “Due to inappropriate commentary during the Taiwan versus Myanmar match, which upset some fans, we would like to apologize to all our friends. We hope all fans can continue to support Taiwanese sports, and take an active interest in the games.”
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS