The BBC issued an apology after one of its reporters asked the soccer captain of the Morocco women’s national team an “inappropriate” question.
A spokesperson for BBC told CNN, “We recognise that the question was inappropriate. We had no intention to cause any harm or distress.”
During a media conference ahead of Morocco’s Women’s World Cup opener against Germany, a BBC reporter asked Ghizlane Chebbak about the sexual orientation of the players on her squad and what “life was like for them” due to the country’s law against same-sex relationships.
However, a moderator for the conference intervened before Chebbak could respond.
“Sorry, this is a very political question, so we’ll just stick to questions relating to football,” the moderator said.
Morocco captain Ghizlane Chebbak’s almost in disbelief reaction to the question, says it all.
— SHE scores bangers (@SHEscoresbanger) July 24, 2023
A completely unethical out of line question that poses safety concerns to the players he asking to be named.
Bizarre push followed.
https://t.co/MKk84O774E
Nonetheless, the reporter insisted the question wasn’t “political.”
“It’s about people. It’s got nothing to do with politics. Just please let her answer the question,” the journalist responded.
Steph Yang, Athletic’s staff writer for women’s soccer, shared her thoughts on the incident in a post on Twitter.
“One reporter here asked directly if there are gay players on the Moroccan squad, given same-sex relationships are illegal in Morocco. From a harm reduction perspective, this is not an appropriate question for a player and would have endangered the players themselves,” she wrote.
One reporter here asked directly if there are gay players on the Moroccan squad, given same-sex relationships are illegal in Morocco. From a harm reduction perspective, this is not an appropriate question for a player and would have endangered the players themselves.
— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) July 23, 2023
Yang added, “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.”
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.
— Steph Yang | Horrible Soccer Goose (@thrace) July 23, 2023
CBC Sports journalist Shireen Ahmed responded to Yang’s tweet revealing she was present at the conference.
I was at this press conference. The reporter was completely out of line. Harm reduction matters and posing the question to the captain or coach was unnecessary. The question was waved off by a FIFA media officer moderating but it shouldn't have been asked. https://t.co/csZ0McTq4k
— Shireen Ahmed (@_shireenahmed_) July 23, 2023
“The reporter was completely out of line. Harm reduction matters and posing the question to the captain or coach was unnecessary,” she shared.
Ahmed continued, “The question was waved off by a FIFA media officer moderating but it shouldn’t have been asked.”