Greek TV commentator fired for 'racist' comment about Korean athlete

Korea's Jeoung Young-sik celebrates a point against Greece's Panagiotis Gionis during the men's singles round 3 table tennis match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, July 27. AFP-Yonhap

A sports commentator in Greece who made an on-air remark about a South Korean athlete at the Tokyo Olympics that the station called racist has been fired, the country's state-run broadcaster said Tuesday.

ERT television said it had ended its collaboration with veteran journalist Dimosthenis Karmiris as a guest commentator following comments he made after Jeoung Young-sik beat Panagiotis Gionis of Greece in men's table tennis.

Asked about the skill of South Korean table tennis players, Karmiris said ``their eyes are narrow so I can't understand how they can see the ball moving back and forth.''

Several hours later, ERT posted a statement on its website.

``Racist comments have no place on public television,`` ERT said in the statement. ``The collaboration between ERT and Dimosthenis Karmiris was terminated today, immediately after the morning show.''

Jeoung beat Gionis 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-6, 14-12. (AP)