Soccer commentator suspended for saying Black player ‘should go eat bananas’
Shlomo Scharf, former national team coach, denies comment about Maccabi Petah Tikva’s Abdiel Arroyo was racist: ‘If I sent you home to eat cholent is that racism?’
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A soccer commentator was suspended by the Sports Channel for making a racist remark about a Black player during a broadcast on Saturday.
Shlomo Scharf, a former coach of Israel’s national team, made the comment after Abdiel Arroyo, a player of Panamanian descent at Maccabi Petah Tikva, missed a goal opportunity against Hapoel Haifa.
Criticizing Arroyo for missing the shot, Scharf said, “he should go eat bananas.”
The Sports Channel later announced it was suspending Scharf until further notice and Maccabi Petah Tikva said it would not allow him to attend games at its stadium.
“We will contact the Sports Channel to inform them that we are expecting to sue Shlomo Scharf for defamation and racism over this wretched remark,” the team was quoted saying by the Ynet news site.
Scharf, a former professional player and national coach, denied the comment was racist.
“This isn’t racism. I said he should go home to eat bananas. If I sent you home to eat cholent is that racism?” he told Ynet.
The comment was widely denounced in the soccer community and by several government ministers.
“The year is 2020 and it is particularly grave that there are those who permit themselves to sin with with such a hurtful, insulting and shameful comment,” the Israel Football Association said, according to Channel 12 news.
It also called for a “severe punishment” and said Scharf should be publicly denounced.
Culture and Sports Minister Chili Tropper denounced Scharf’s comments, saying “racism must be directly addressed. Shlomo Sharaf’s statement is inappropriate and has no place in Israeli sports or society in general.”
The Times of Israel Community.