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Jim Beglin Apologizes for Blaming Angel Di Maria Red Card on 'Latino Temperament'
May 5, 2021
CBS soccer announcer Jim Beglin offered a second apology and attempted to further explain himself after blaming Angel Di Maria's red card on the player's "Latino temperament" during a UEFA Champions League semifinal between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City on Tuesday.
The comment came in the 69th minute as Di Maria was sent off after stamping on MCFC's Fernandinho and City up 2-0. Beglin offered an apology nearly 10 minutes later on the broadcast, though it wasn't clear he understood the immediate reaction to his racial stereotyping.
"When Di Maria was sent off, I described it by using the word 'Latino,'" Beglin said. "For anybody that's taken offense, I do apologize—sincerely apologize."
In a tweet sent after City's 2-0 victory to advance to the Champions League final, Beglin acknowledged and apologized for his use of a racial stereotype, calling his action "inappropriate and unacceptable" while vowing to learn from his actions.
This comes just five days after UEFA and FIFA joined English football in boycotting social media from April 30 to May 3 to fight online racism and abuse targeting players.
"There have been abuses both on the pitch and on social media," UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said. "This is unacceptable and needs to be stopped, with the help of the public and legislative authorities and the social media giants. Allowing a culture of hatred to grow with impunity is dangerous, very dangerous, not only for football, but for society as a whole."
