Danish TV channel apologizes to Moroccan players for "racist and insulting" abuse

Today, Monday, a Danish channel apologized for racist statements made by one of its broadcasters a week ago against the Moroccan national football team and the way they celebrated with their families after beating Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup "Qatar 2022".

Hi Nima,

We're very sorry for the comments made here.

Although it's not the intention, it's offensive and a mistake.

We deeply apologize for this - please see link.

https://t.co/xU6dwVAr5S

— TV 2 Danmark (@tv2danmark) December 17, 2022

Danish broadcaster (TV 2 News) Soren Liebert had likened, during his program (News & Co), the celebration of the Moroccan national team players with their mothers after each victory in the Qatar World Cup, to a "monkey family".

A Danish brother sent it to me.

Not sure if it's rewatchable.

pic.twitter.com/g8r3BVpDTz

- Arya 🇮🇷 (@AryJeay) December 16, 2022

Days after the episode was broadcast on communication platforms and sparked a state of controversy and anger at the same time, the Danish channel was forced to publish a statement, expressing its apology and the apology of the broadcaster who made the comments, stressing that they are "racist and insulting."

Activists attached video clips from the episode in which the presenter uploaded a picture of 3 monkeys, while another host in the episode was referring to the monkey family embracing each other.

A Danish brother sent it to me.

Not sure if it's rewatchable.

pic.twitter.com/g8r3BVpDTz

- Arya 🇮🇷 (@AryJeay) December 16, 2022

And the channel added, in its statement, “Unintentionally, this became a comparison between the Moroccan national team players and their families, and a picture of a family of monkeys, which was uploaded by host Soren Liebert.”

The channel's editor-in-chief, Anne Mitt Swain, expressed her "deep" regret for what happened, saying, "This was a clear mistake and we apologize for it," stressing that the channel "will take this into consideration in the future."

Index finger .. anti-Semitism!

A few days ago, the German "Welt" channel broadcast a report linking the players of the Moroccan national football team to the Islamic State (ISIS), because they raised their index finger to celebrate their victory over Portugal in the quarter-finals of the "Qatar 2022" World Cup.

The report, which was later deleted from YouTube, dealt with a picture of 3 players from the Moroccan national team, who carried the Moroccan flag and raised their index finger in the dressing room.

On December 10, the Moroccan national team players were attacked by the German press, as the German newspaper "Taz" accused the "Atlas Lions" players of "anti-Semitism."

WM-Außenseiter Marokko muss man einfach mögen - oder et wa nicht?

Dass der Freude eine antisemitische Note beigemischt wird, macht die Sache schwierig.

https://t.co/lq1gSN2Jea

- taz (@tazzgezwitscher) December 10, 2022