BBC apologises for ‘inappropriate’ question about gay players to Morocco’s football captain
“It’s about people, it’s got nothing to do with politics,” the reporter said.
The BBC has apologised for an “inappropriate” question about gay players asked to the captain of the Morocco women’s team.
The question was asked at a media conference ahead of a Women’s World Cup game between Morocco and Germany.
A World Service reporter addressed Ghizlane Chebbak, the team captain: “In Morocco, it’s illegal to have a gay relationship. Do you have any gay players in your squad and what’s life like for them in Morocco?”
“No, it’s not political,” the journalist said after a mediator interjected to keep the topic to football.
“We’ll just stick to questions relating to football.”
“Sorry, this is a very political question, so we’ll just stick to questions relating to football,” the mediator noted.
“It’s about people, it’s got nothing to do with politics,” the reporter continued. “Please let her answer the question.”
A FIFA representative then took one more question before ending the conference.
A BBC spokesman has since shared: “We recognise that the question was inappropriate. We had no intention to cause any harm or distress.”
Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Morocco and punishable with three to five years imprisonment alongside a fine.
Moroccan press at the conference were reportedly shocked by the line of questioning.
Journalist Steph Yang tweeted that the question was notably dangerous and put players’ safety at risk.
“From a harm reduction perspective, this is not an appropriate question for a player and would have endangered the players themselves.”
“We are obviously going to talk about the intersection of politics and sports at this World Cup, and it’s vital to do so.”
“But we should take care that our questions don’t cause further harm to those impacted by those very politics.”
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is taking place from July 20 to August 20.