[Summary] MBC Causes Another Incident... "Thank You, Marin" to Romanian Player Who Scored an Own Goal

Controversy Over Inappropriate Photos and Phrases During Team Entrance
Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Photo Used in Ukraine Introduction
"Meaningless and Strange," Foreign Media Including UK's Guardian Also Criticize
MBC States "Lack of Consideration for the Concerned Country"

Photo by MBC Broadcast Screen Capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] MBC, which caused controversy by using inappropriate materials during the live broadcast of the '2020 Tokyo Olympics' opening ceremony, has once again been engulfed in criticism for displaying subtitles that seemed to mock an opposing team player who scored an own goal.

On the afternoon of the 25th, MBC broadcast live the Tokyo Olympics men's soccer Group B preliminary match between South Korea and Romania held at Kashima Stadium in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan.

On that day, the South Korean Olympic team led by coach Kim Hak-beom achieved a 4-0 victory with an own goal by the opponent in the 27th minute of the first half, an additional goal by Eom Won-sang in the 14th minute of the second half, and multi-goals by Lee Kang-in in the 39th and 45th minutes of the second half.

During this process, MBC caused controversy by displaying inappropriate subtitles directed at Romanian player Razvan Marin, who scored the own goal in the first half. After the first half ended, during a commercial break, MBC displayed the subtitle "Thank you, Marin" in the upper right corner.

Viewers responded critically, saying, "Would it be okay if another country displayed such subtitles when our players scored own goals?", "It's utterly shameful," "The player must be stressed from the own goal, so mocking him on a foreign broadcast seems inappropriate," and "Is it MBC again this time?"

MBC is once again embroiled in controversy for using inappropriate subtitles during the broadcast of the Tokyo Olympic football match. Photo by Online Community Screenshot.

This is not the first time MBC has faced controversy over inappropriate broadcasting. Previously, during the live broadcast of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on the 23rd, MBC caused controversy by using a photo of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant when the Ukrainian delegation entered.

The Chernobyl nuclear accident is considered one of the worst disasters in human history, occurring on April 26, 1986, when Reactor No. 4 exploded in the area north of Kyiv near the Belarus border, causing massive radiation casualties in the city of Chernobyl located in north-central Ukraine.

Additionally, MBC used inappropriate photos for other countries' entries as well. For the El Salvador delegation introduction, a Bitcoin photo was used, and for the Haiti delegation introduction, a protest photo was shown along with the subtitle "Political situation in turmoil after presidential assassination."

Currently, El Salvador is the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender but is experiencing conflicts due to opposition protests. Haiti has been undergoing political turmoil following the assassination of President Jovenel Mo?se.

In response to the controversy, MBC issued a statement on the 24th, saying about the problematic videos and subtitles, "They were prepared with the intention of briefly and easily introducing the delegations entering by country during the opening ceremony," but admitted, "There was a significant lack of consideration and care for the countries involved, and the review process was inadequate. It was an inexcusable mistake," and apologized.

Russian-born broadcaster Ilya Belyakov strongly criticized MBC for using a photo of Chernobyl when introducing the Ukrainian team. Photo by Ilya, Twitter screenshot.

Despite MBC's apology, the controversy has not subsided. Russian-born broadcaster Ilya Belyakov posted a photo of MBC's opening ceremony broadcast screen on his Twitter, criticizing, "The person in charge who made this subtitle must have thought, 'Oh, this is okay.' Why didn't they put a Sewol ferry photo when South Korean athletes entered?"

He continued, "The U.S. even included 9/11 terror photos," expressing anger, "How ignorant and uninformed must one be to include a photo of an exploded nuclear power plant?"

Foreign media have also continued to criticize MBC's Olympic broadcast controversy. The British daily The Guardian published an article titled "Chernobyl for Ukraine, pizza for Italy: South Korean TV apologizes for Olympic photos," pointing out each problematic photo and subtitle.

The outlet evaluated that MBC used some "offensive" images when introducing Olympic participating countries. In particular, the media criticized, "Most were meaningless and strange," citing that a photo of the Queen was used to introduce the UK, and a Bitcoin photo was used to explain El Salvador, which adopted cryptocurrency as legal tender.

Meanwhile, MBC was also heavily sanctioned by the Korea Communications Standards Commission during the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony broadcast for using inappropriate phrases while introducing some countries.

At that time, MBC described Kiribati as "Islands sinking due to global warming," Ghana as "The place where Jesus first performed miracles," and Chad as "The dead heart of Africa," which drew criticism.