http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-SOC-Hungary-Saudi-Arabia-Apology.html

 

February 8, 2005 Hungarian PM Apologizes for Saudi Slur

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 3:50 p.m. ET

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) -- The prime minister of Hungary apologized Tuesday for joking that Saudi Arabia's soccer team had ``very many terrorists'' on its roster.

Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany made the remark over the weekend at a Socialist Party event, referring to Hungary's 0-0 tie against Saudi Arabia in Turkey last week.

``I think that there were very many terrorists also among the Saudi soccer players, and our sons fought with death-defying bravery against these terrorists, so a draw away from home is a fantastic result,'' Gyurcsany was quoted as saying by state news agency MTI.

On Tuesday, he said his comments were said in the context of a TV show parody and anyone who took them seriously was driven by ``political intolerance ... or even ill-will.''

``I apologize to anyone who with or without reason was offended by that sentence,'' he said.