Former Ireland international Jim Beglin has issued an apology after alleging Angel Di Maria's 'Latino temperament' was a reason for his red card in the second half of the Champions League semifinal between Manchester City and PSG last night on American TV.
Beglin was doing co-commentary for American sports broadcaster CBS Sports. The CBS feed would also be the go-to stream for internet pirates around the globe, and would have a massive global audience.
Jim Beglin for God’s sake, there was no need for that pic.twitter.com/FFkxRIb1AA https://t.co/4E7KjX5u1d
— Roberto Rojas (@RobertoRojas97) May 4, 2021
Beglin issued a fulsome apology on Twitter about two hours after the fulltime whistle.
— Jim Beglin (@jimbeglin) May 4, 2021
He wrote:
'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.'
While Beglin's remark was immediately criticised on Twitter, his apology was generally welcomed. As one Twitter wrote: 'As a Latino myself, and as a fan that’s been listening to your commentary for many years, I know that it didn’t come from a bad place. You’re a stand up man, and these times are tricky to navigate but I appreciate the apology.'
Beglin is one of the best in the business and it would be a pity if one clumsy remark would lead to less broadcast time for the Waterford man. His apology makes it seem like he understands the gravity of the situation.
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