Swiss player Morganella sent home for racist tweet

LONDON - The Associated Press

Switzerland’s Michel Morganella is given marching orders after his racist tweets about South Korean players following the two teams’ Olympic football game. AFP Photo

A Swiss footballer was expelled from the Olympics on July 30 for his threatening and racist message on Twitter about South Koreans. The comments by Michel Morganella came hours after Switzerland lost to South Korea. Morganella “discriminated against, insulted and violated the dignity of the South Korea football team as well as the South Korean people,” Swiss Olympic team chief Gian Gilli said through a translator at a news conference. He said the player was stripped of his Olympic accreditation.

Morganella is the second athlete kicked off a London Olympics team for offensive Twitter comments, following Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou.

He posted the message after the 2-1 loss against South Korea on July 29. He tweeted that Koreans “can go burn” and referred to them as “mongoloids.”

The 23-year-old player later apologized through a statement.

“I apologize sincerely to the people of South Korea, to the players, but equally to the Swiss football in general. It’s clear that I’m accepting the consequences,” he stated.