Patrick Moster is being sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after Germany’s Olympic federation fired him as the sports director of its cycling program. It happened after he was recorded using a racial slur during the men’s time trial Wednesday.
TV cameras picked up Moster yelling a racial slur while cheering on German cyclist Nikias Arndt during a time when he was trying to catch rival riders from Algeria and Eritrea.
Moster shouted, “Get the camel drivers” several times.
Moster apologized shortly after the incident, but Arndt immediately distanced himself from the remarks, saying he was “appalled” and that the slur did not reflect his values.
In his apology, Moster said, “In the heat of the moment and with the overall burden that we have here at the moment, my choice of words was not appropriate,” according to a translation reported by Deutsche Welle. He added, “I am extremely sorry and can only offer my sincere apologies.”
Algeria’s Azzedine Lagab, one of the riders Arndt was chasing, said Thursday that he has “had more aggressive racist comments before.” He added, ” It’s such a shame it happens in the Olympics.”
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“Well, There is no camel race in #olympics,” he said, “that’s why I came to cycling.” He added, “At least I was there in #Tokyo2020.”
