Commentator Jim Beglin Apologises For Attributing Di Maria Red Card To ‘Latino Temperament’
Former Liverpool defender and football commentator Jim Beglin has apologised after attributing Angel Di Maria’s red card against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium to ‘Latino temperament’.
Di Maria was given his marching off orders by referee Bjorn Kuipers with twenty minutes remaining after trodding on the foot of Manchester City captain Fernandinho.
Beglin, who was on commentary duty at CBS at the time, blamed Di Maria’s petulance on ‘latino temperament, which irked a lot of viewers.
"It's that Latino temperament," Beglin said, as Di Maria, an Argentina international winger, walked off the field.
Beglin apologised shortly after, telling viewers: "When Di Maria was sent off, I described it by using the word Latino. For anybody that's taken offense, I do apologise -- sincerely apologise."
The 57-year-old former Northern Ireland international tweeted another apology after the game which read: "I apologise for my culturally insensitive remarks during the Champions League tie between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. 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."
Manchester City won the game 2-0 thanks to Riyad Mahrez’s brace and advanced to their first ever Champions League final 4-1 on aggregate.
