Thursday 29 July 2021
“No camel race in Olympia”
Algerian cyclist reacts to Moster
Azzedine Lagab is the Algerian driver who was racially insulted by the German sports director Patrick Moster in the Olympic individual time trial. After the scandal, the athlete spoke on Twitter. Rick Zabel finds clear words from the German cycling scene.
The Algerian cyclist Azzedine Lagab reacted to the racist derailment of the German cycling sports director Patrick Moster. “Well, there is no camel race at the Olympics, that’s why I do cycling. At least I was there in Tokyo”, wrote Lagab on Twitter. The 34-year-old Lagab is one of the most successful cyclists in Algeria and, among other things, the reigning national time trial champion.
In the Olympic individual time trial, Moster caused a scandal when he cheered on Nikias Arndt from Cologne with racist words to catch up with Lagab, who was driving in front of him. “Get the camel drivers”, Moster shouted twice, which could be heard live on television. Moster had apologized for his choice of words, and there was a clarifying discussion with the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). So far there have been no further consequences.
Arndt himself then commented on Twitter in his own words “horrified by the incidents” and distanced himself from Moster. As one of the few athletes, Rick Zabel, who did not start at the Olympics, also condemned Moster’s derailment. “On the one hand, I understand all athletes who say nothing about it because they are afraid of being in the line of fire if they express their opinion or are simply no longer nominated for a European Championship, World Cup or Olympics,” he wrote Professional and son of the former cyclist Erik Zabel on Instagram. “Even if I’m not at the Olympic Games myself, I’m ashamed of the statements.”
Zabel criticized that there was only a “succinct excuse” after the race. “Personally, I cannot understand that the BDR or DOSB did not take immediate consequences after this behavior.” If you want to represent Olympic values and anti-racism campaigns in a credible way, such an incident should not be tolerated.
.