The Olympic Video games is an occasion supposed to deliver the world collectively, all nations becoming a member of palms to have fun the heights of human athleticism. After all, there are limits to this philosophy, as world politics and conflicts realistically cannot be fully put apart.
Even so, some Olympic disputes are decidedly extra petty than others. One such quarrel on the Paris 2024 Video games now includes pizza, with a Pizza Hut promotion in Hong Kong and Macao going viral as a consequence of its cheeky jab at Italy.
Earlier this week, Pizza Hut introduced that clients in Hong Kong and Macao can have pineapple added to their pizzas freed from cost till July 31.
“In case you are a foodie, select the Italian fashion and add pineapple,” Pizza Hut Hong Kong & Monaco wrote on Fb (translated through Google Translate). “Or add Hawaiian fashion with pineapple, ranging from $139 [$US18]!”
The submit was accompanied by a graphic displaying a fencer with three pineapple rings threaded on their sword.
Pizza Hut’s promotion appears particularly designed to rile up Italians by ostensibly ruining one in all their most well-known dishes. Pineapple on pizza has lengthy been a controversial topping, with many contemplating it tantamount to sacrilege (albeit sometimes in a joking method).
Nonetheless, this lighthearted potshot did not come out of nowhere. Pizza Hut’s pineapple promotion got here scorching on the heels of Hong Kong defeating Italy in fencing for gold at Paris, responding to the latter’s poor response to the loss.
The Olympic fencing controversy between Hong Kong and Italy
On Monday, at Paris’ Grand Palais, Hong Kong fencer Ka Lengthy Cheung defeated Italy’s Filippo Macchi to win the 2024 Olympic gold medal within the males’s fencing particular person foil occasion. The shut bout ended with a rating of 15-14 after going to sudden loss of life, with Macchi placing up a powerful combat towards the defending champion at his first ever Olympic Video games. There have been even two moments the place the judges needed to assessment video footage to find out whether or not the successful fifteenth level had been scored, although no level was awarded each instances.
Filippo Macchi of Italy and Ka Lengthy Cheung of Hong Kong.
Credit score: Al Bello / Getty Photos
Cheung ultimately emerged victorious after a video assessment of a 3rd contentious level was dominated in his favour. Sadly, each Cheung’s gold and Macchi’s silver have been marred by what seems to be some fairly poor sportsmanship.
Shortly after the match, the Italian Fencing Federation (IFF) introduced it was submitting a proper protest towards the outcomes with the Fédération Internationale d’Escrime (the governing physique of Olympic fencing) and the Worldwide Olympic Committee. Specifically, the IFF took subject with the referees’ residence international locations of Taipei and South Korea, alleging that they had been too shut geographically to Hong Kong to arbitrate pretty.
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This appears an odd argument contemplating that the whole historical past of worldwide battle suggests bodily proximity bears little relation as to whether international locations truly like one another. As such, many individuals on-line have attributed the IIF’s criticism to anti-Asian racism.
“Filippo Macchi is the true winner and he was denied a gold he deserved,” stated IFF president Paolo Azzi in a press release (translated through Google Translate). “The collection of referees is an issue however the stage of refereeing was under the good ultimate we noticed.”
The gold medal match was refereed by Huang Hao-Chih from Taipei, with Suh Sangwon of South Korea performing because the video referee. Ayoub Ferjani from Tunisia and Vilem Madr from the Czech Republic served as assistant referees. These 4 judges had beforehand refereed Macchi’s 15-11 semi-final win towards U.S. fencer Nick Itkin, albeit with Ferjani and Huang performing as referee and video referee respectively.
Macchi’s quarter-final win towards Egypt’s Mohamed Hamza was additionally overseen by Madr and Tim Claus Bardenhagen, whose respective residence international locations of the Czech Republic and Germany are notably nearer to Italy than Egypt.
The IFF didn’t increase any objection to the selection of referees in both of those earlier matches.
Italy’s obvious sore loser behaviour wasn’t confined to IFF officers. Folks from each Italy and Hong Kong rapidly took to social media to insult the opposing athletes, the match referees, and one another. Such feedback have ranged from sharing offensive meals mixtures to extra aggressive and mean-spirited assaults.
It is not all vitriol, although. Whereas Macchi, Cheung, and the judges’ Instagram remark sections nonetheless include mean-spirited posts, there are various congratulatory and appreciative sentiments as properly.
For his half, Macchi is main by instance by accepting his Olympic silver medal with class and charm. The Italian fencer acknowledged followers who felt he’d been robbed of gold, however stated he thought-about himself lucky to have are available in second.
“I’ve heard of every kind, they robbed you, outrageous arbitration, it’s a disgrace,” Macchi wrote in a submit on Instagram (translated through Instagram). “But I am reminded that I am one fortunate man. I am 22, a phenomenal household, wonderful associates, and a girlfriend that always leaves me speechless.
“I got here second in crucial competitors for any athlete enjoying a sport, and since I play this sport I discovered that referee choices have to be revered, all the time! I do know each referees, I don’t really feel like pointing a finger at them and blaming them for my lack of success even as a result of it could result in nothing however creating an alibi for me. What has occurred is prior to now, now it’s gone, what is going to occur sooner or later is as much as me!”
Macchi’s mature response seems to have earned him the respect of many, whether or not they’re from Hong Kong or elsewhere. Thankfully, the lads’s fencing particular person foil wasn’t his solely probability of successful gold on the Paris Olympics. The Italian fencer is at present scheduled to compete towards Poland within the males’s foil group quarter-finals subsequent week. He’ll little doubt have fairly just a few extra individuals cheering for him now.