Olympics News

If you happened to watch RTÉ’s coverage of the boxing last night you may have caught another un-PC gaffe by a commentator.

We brought you the news last weekend of Mick Dowling’s unfortunate, albeit non-malicious remarks about John Joe Nevin in his first fight.

Well another mainstay on the national broadcasters boxing coverage got into the act last night, as veteran broadcaster and gentleman Jimmy Magee made a slight error.

RTÉ had just broadcasted Michael Conlan’s demolition of his Ghanaian opponent to reach the quarter finals and one fight away from a bronze at least.

We were then treated to coverage of Nordine Oubaali beating Rau’shee Warren to see who would fight Conlan in the next round.

Warren at the age of 25 was going into his third Olympics and sported some bright, luminous lime-green trainers, which prompted Magee to make the remark in the video below that could be classed as casually racist.

Video Credit: @RuairiKelly1

In fairness the remark, like Dowling’s last week can’t be cast as anything other than innocent and during the week the International Olympic Committee awarded the 77-year-old commentator for services to the Games with a replica Olympic torch. Magee has covered 10 games now.

RTÉ’s boxing coverage to be fair has been very good so far this Olympics with Michael Carruth, Bernard Dunne and Mick Dowling offering some top-class analysis from the couch.

They might want to dial down remarks like these a notch though before it gets out of hand.