The Olympic Video games are an occasion designed to convey the world collectively, with all nations becoming a member of collectively to rejoice the head of human athletic capacity. After all, this concept additionally has its limitations, as world politics and conflicts can’t be utterly ignored in actuality.
Even so, some Olympic controversies are decidedly much less controversial than others. One such row on the 2024 Paris Olympics now includes pizza, with a Pizza Hut promotion in Hong Kong and Macau going viral for its brazen assault on Italy.
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Earlier this week, Pizza Hut introduced that prospects in Hong Kong and Macau can add pineapple to their pizza without spending a dime till July 31.
“For those who’re a foodie, select Italian and add pineapple,” Pizza Hut Hong Kong and Monaco wrote on Fb (translated through Google Translate). “Or add Hawaiian-style pineapple, beginning at $139 [$US18]!
The publish was accompanied by a picture displaying a fencer carrying three pineapple rings on his sword.
Pizza Hut’s promotion seems to be particularly designed to piss off Italians, ostensibly ruining one in all their most well-known dishes. Pineapple on pizza has lengthy been a controversial topping, thought of by many to be tantamount to blasphemy (albeit often in a joking method).
This light-hearted nonsense doesn’t come out of nowhere, nonetheless. After Hong Kong beat Italy to win the gold medal on the Paris fencing competitors, Pizza Hut launched a pineapple promotion in response to the latter’s poor response to the loss.
Hong Kong and Italy Olympic Fencing Controversy
Hong Kong fencer Nick Cheung defeated Italy’s Filippo Maggi to win the gold medal within the 2024 Olympic males’s fencing particular person foil competitors on the Grand Palais in Paris on Monday. The shut match ended 15-14 after sudden demise, with Markey placing up a powerful battle in opposition to the defending champion in his first Olympics. There have been even two events the place the judges had to take a look at movie footage to find out if the profitable fifteenth level had been scored, though neither time was scored.
Filippo Macchi of Italy and Ka Lengthy Cheung of Hong Kong.
Photograph credit score: Albello/Getty Photos
After a video assessment of the third disputed level, Zhang in the end emerged victorious. Sadly, each Zhang’s gold medal and March’s silver had been marred by what appeared like some fairly poor sportsmanship.
Shortly after the competitors, the Italian Fencing Federation (IFF) introduced that it could lodge a proper protest in opposition to the outcomes with the Worldwide Fencing Federation (Olympic fencing’s governing physique) and the Worldwide Olympic Committee. Specifically, the IFF took problem with the referees’ dwelling nations of Taipei and South Korea, claiming they had been too geographically near Hong Kong to permit truthful arbitration.
Common tales that may be blended and matched
This will seem to be an odd argument, because the total historical past of worldwide battle has proven that bodily proximity has little to do with whether or not states really like one another. In consequence, many individuals on-line attributed the IIF criticism to anti-Asian racism.
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“Filippo Macchi is a real winner, however he was denied the gold medal he deserved,” IFF president Paolo Azzi stated in a press release. “The referee’s selection was a Drawback however the officiating was under the extent of the nice finals we noticed.”
The gold medal match was refereed by Taipei participant Huang Haozhi, and South Korea’s Xu Shangyuan served because the video referee. Ayoub Fegiani from Tunisia and Vilem Mader from the Czech Republic served as assistant referees. The 4 referees had beforehand officiated March’s 15-11 semifinal victory over American fencer Nick Itkin, though Feggiani and Huang served as referee and video referee respectively.
Markey’s quarter-final win over Egypt’s Mohamed Hamza additionally got here underneath the watchful eye of Mader and Tim Klaus Badenhagen, distance from their respective native Czech Republic and Germany. Italy is nearer than Egypt.
The IFF didn’t increase any objections to the refereeing decisions for the earlier two matches.
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Italy’s obvious loser habits just isn’t restricted to IFF officers. Individuals from Italy and Hong Kong had been fast to take to social media to insult one another’s athletes, referees and one another. The feedback vary from sharing offensive meals combos to extra aggressive and vile assaults.
It is not all vitriol, although. Whereas the Instagram feedback part for Macchi, Cheung and the judges nonetheless accommodates imply posts, there’s additionally plenty of congratulations and appreciation.
Markey, for his half, led by instance and accepted his Olympic silver medal with grace and beauty. The Italian fencer admitted followers thought he was robbed of his gold medal, however stated he was fortunate to complete second.
“I’ve heard every kind of issues, they rob you, outrageous arbitration, it is a disgrace,” Macchi wrote in a publish on Instagram (through Instagram translation). “But I keep in mind that I’m a fortunate man. I’m 22 years previous, have a beautiful household, nice mates, and a girlfriend who all the time leaves me speechless.
“For any athlete who performs a sport, I completed second in crucial competitors. As a result of I play this sport, I perceive that the referee’s determination should all the time be revered! I do know two referees, I I don’t wish to level fingers at them and blame them for my failure, as a result of this may solely create alibi for me. What occurred is up to now and is up to now. What is going to occur sooner or later is as much as me!
March’s mature response appeared to win him the respect of many, whether or not they had been from Hong Kong or elsewhere. Thankfully, males’s particular person foil fencing is not the one probability to win gold in Paris. The Italian fencer is at present scheduled to face Poland within the males’s foil group quarterfinals subsequent week. Little question extra individuals shall be cheering for him now.
