TOKYO — A German cycling official will be sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after using a racist slur during the men’s time trial, the country’s team said Thursday.
German cycling federation sports director Patrick Moster had been overseeing the cycling squad at the Tokyo Games. He used the slur while urging German rider Nikias Arndt to catch up to riders from the African nations of Algeria and Eritrea during Wednesday’s time trial. It was heard on TV broadcasts and widely condemned in Germany.
Moster later apologized and the German team initially indicated he would stay in Tokyo.
On Thursday, German Olympic committee president Alfons Hörmann said he considers Moster’s apology to be “sincere” but that he “breached the Olympic values.”
Hörmann added that “fair play, respect and tolerance … are non-negotiable” for the German team.
Arndt, the rider Moster was addressing during the time trial, condemned the official’s comments.
“I am appalled by the incident at the Olympic time trial today and would like to distance myself clearly from the sporting director’s statements,” he wrote on social media Wednesday. “Such words are not acceptable.”
On Thursday, Arndt posted a picture of the Olympic rings with the message “Cycling against racism!”
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