The BBC issued an apology after one of its reporters asked an “inappropriate” question to Ghizlane Chebbak, the captain of the Morocco women’s national football team. At a press conference after the Moroccan team’s World Cup match against Germany on Monday, the reporter asked Chebbak if the team has “any gay players”.
“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?” the BBC reporter asked Chebbak.
Moroccan law criminalises acts of ‘sexual deviancy’ between members of the same sex and are punishable with up to three years in prison and fines of up to 1,000 dirhams (USD 91), according to Human Rights Watch.
The BBC reporter was interrupted by the press conference moderator, who said, “Sorry, this is a very political question, so we’ll just stick to questions relating to football.” However, the reporter replied, “No, it’s not political. It’s about people, it’s got nothing to do with politics. Please let her answer the question.”
The reporter’s question sparked outrage, with several journalists who were in the room at the time of the press conference saying it was “unnecessary” and “completely out of line”.
According to CNN, a FIFA representative addressed the BBC journalist on site immediately after the press conference had ended. After the outrage, the BBC issued an apology and a spokesperson for the British news organisation told CNN, “We recognise that the question was inappropriate. We had no intention to cause any harm or distress.”
Source: India Today
