Soccer Announcer Jim Beglin Apologizes for Using 'Racial Stereotype' Toward Latino Star
Soccer Announcer Jim Beglin Apologizes for Using 'Racial Stereotype' ... Toward Latino Star
Jim Beglin -- one of the top soccer announcers in the world -- is apologizing after making an "inappropriate and unacceptable" remark when describing a Latino player.
Beglin was calling a Champions League semifinals match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City on Tuesday when PSG's Angel Di Maria received a red card for kicking an opposing player.
Di Maria -- who is from Argentina -- was being sent off the pitch, Beglin chalked up the player's outburst on his "Latino temperament."
Indeed he did pic.twitter.com/mJQDRVZI8H
— Coreyzinho (@coreyzinho) May 4, 2021 @coreyzinho
Yeesh.
There was immediate backlash on social media -- and Beglin apologized during the broadcast moments later.
"When Di Maria was sent off, I described it by using the word Latino," Beglin said on-air ... "For anybody that's taken offense, I do apologize -- sincerely apologize."
After the match, Beglin expanded on his apology ...
"I apologise for my culturally insensitive remarks during the Champions League tie between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain," Beglin posted on Twitter.
— Jim Beglin (@jimbeglin) May 4, 2021 @jimbeglin
"I wrongly used a racial stereotype. This was inappropriate and unacceptable. Words have a strong impact, and I fully understand the severity of what I said when Angel Di Maria was sent off."
"I will learn from this and be better moving forward."
57-year-old Beglin is a former pro soccer player who represented the Republic of Ireland on the international stage back in the '80s. He also played for Liverpool and Leeds United.