Turkish Wrestler Grounded For Racism
International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) has barred Turkish wrestler Rıza Kayaalp from attending tournaments for a period of six months due to his racist tweets and insults on Gezi Resistance protestors in Turkey. “We will not have our kid wasted,” Turkey’s Wrestling Federation said.
During Turkey’s Gezi Resistance, Kayaalp sent several aggressive tweets including “You left the ground to Armenians, God punish you damn chapulliers”, “Armenian people are celebrating that they have occupied Taksim Square and insulted Turkey easily”, “I will f..k your protests, you traitors”.
Many complaints have reportedly been filed regarding Kayaalp to FILA, as well as International Olympics Council (IOC).
According to Habertürk newspaper, FILA found Kayaalp’s remarks racist three weeks ago, barring him from attending tournaments for a period of six months.
On the other hand, Kayaalp has recently been chosen as the flag holder athlete for Turkey in the opening ceremony of Mediterranean Games - an international olympic event that has been hosted by Turkey this year.
Federation: We will not let our kid go wasted
According to an article by Radikal newspaper, Turkey’s Wrestling Federation President Hamza Yerlikaya has said they have launched a legal process upon the news coverage and allegations.
Resembling Kayaalp’s situation to those who are standing trial, Yerlikaya said the following:
“There is neither any findings nor documents nor complaining parties nor official evidence to ground these allegations. But he is receiving a penalty. There is something unlawful here. Our kinds has no racist speech here. These are tweets sent by third parties. It is not even that certain.
“The complaint submitted to FILA included distorted statements. Those words have not been used by him. We haven’t even made our defense yet. And no official order has been sent to us. We haven’t been given a chance to appeal either.
“If there is racist speech, we will be the first ones to confront these. Give me all these racist statement if there are any, I will issue the first penalty.
“We will not have our kid wasted. We are behind him. We believe to his innocence profoundly. We will take whatever legal action to possible.
“That accused person is my athlete. He is committed to his country and nation. He lives with this sentiments and has achieve some many accomplishments. We will ask the meaning of this penalty.
“We are demanding an official statement from FILA on the ground of the penalty according to its disciplinary code. There is an upcoming world wrestling championship on September 15. Nobody has the right to spoil the motivation of one of our distinguished national athletes.” (EKN/BM)
* Click here to read the original article in Turkish.