Washington DC- beIN sports should follow Adidas’ lead and fire Hafid Derradji for his antisemitic, sexist, and hateful remarks. The Qatari channel should keep the Algerian presenter from damaging its brand and harming its reputation among fans before the launch of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The commentator in Al Jazeera sports channels and beIN sports came under fire, again, for making derogatory, inappropriate, and blatantly inappropriate comments on Twitter. He has become a public relations liability for beIN Sports.
As Doha readies to host the World Cup that kicks off in a few days, the Qatari media group does not need negative publicity from the controversial and unstable Derradji. Qatar, which has been unfairly scrutinized, can do without the additional bad press.
Derradji called Moroccan women “prostitutes,” denounced Arab countries’ normalization with Israel in vulgar terms, and pushed anti-Semitic information. beIN needs to distance itself from these comments, as it should have zero tolerance for this behavior.
Derradji should be banned from any future broadcast. He needs to understand the impact of his words and actions on the reputation of the company he represents. beIN sports must make clear that there is no room for derogatory comments on or off the soccer fields.
Being a high-profile employee of beIN, Derradji should behave following the company’s values or be fired. BeIN should not allow his anti-Semitism, sexism, and hateful speech toward Moroccans and others to go unpunished. His hateful rhetoric is divisive when the World Cup promotes inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.
Soccer fans expect beIN to uphold its responsibility and live up to its World Cup promise of “One world One home.”
While Derradji does not speak on behalf of beIN sport, he remains one of the network’s prominent faces, and this association gives his words credence and reach. Thus, his offensive comments would reflect poorly on beIN culture as long as he works for the organization.
Furthermore, beIN is a sports network, not a political platform where he can spew his hate. His comments and behaviors belong on the Algerian government broadcasting company. Derradji, celebrated in the official Algerian press, is known for his close relations with Algeria’s strong man General Chengriha.
For Middle Eastern observers, the sports commentator is a mouthpiece of the military-backed Algerian government, which has pushed for his offensive and unacceptable language. As such, beIN should not be turned into a megaphone for the Algerian military junta.
beIN, which did not act following Derradji’s past anti-Semitic comments, must clarify that his remarks do not reflect the company’s values. What’s more, he, an instrument for the Algerian government propaganda machine, should be pulled off the air for beIN to close this chapter and move into reporting on the World Cup.
