'No ill-feelings, Balotelli'
Published: Mar 11, 2014 3:16 PM | Updated: Mar 11, 2014 4:07 PM
Italian footballer Mario Balotelli was roped into the crisis surrounding MH370 in a bid to shed light on the appearance of the two men who boarded the flight with stolen passports.
Italian footballer Mario Balotelli was roped into the crisis surrounding MH370 in a bid to shed light on the appearance of the two men who boarded the flight with stolen passports.
In a statement today, the Crisis Communication Centre explained that Department of Civil Aviation director-general Azharuddin Abd Rahman had merely used the footballer as a reference.
"No ill feelings were meant to the personality concerned. We hope this clarifies the issue," read the statement.
Azharuddin had drawn flak from netizens over his remarks.
During a press conference yesterday, he had denied earlier reports which claimed that the two men were Asian looking.
The DCA chief then sought to emphasise that skin colour does not indicate nationality by citing Balotelli -- a Ghanaian-born striker with AC Milan - as an example.
"Do you know a footballer by the name of Bartoli (sic)? He's an Italian. Do you know what he looks like? Balotelli," he told reporters.
"I don't want to dwell about this but they (nationality and race) are not the same thing," he added.
Since the Boeing 777 with 229 people on board had gone missing on Saturday morning, Azharuddin and other Malaysian officials have drawn flak over their responses.
In a statement today, the Crisis Communication Centre explained that Department of Civil Aviation director-general Azharuddin Abd Rahman had merely used the footballer as a reference.
"No ill feelings were meant to the personality concerned. We hope this clarifies the issue," read the statement.
Azharuddin had drawn flak from netizens over his remarks.
During a press conference yesterday, he had denied earlier reports which claimed that the two men were Asian looking.
The DCA chief then sought to emphasise that skin colour does not indicate nationality by citing Balotelli -- a Ghanaian-born striker with AC Milan - as an example.
"Do you know a footballer by the name of Bartoli (sic)? He's an Italian. Do you know what he looks like? Balotelli," he told reporters."I don't want to dwell about this but they (nationality and race) are not the same thing," he added.
Since the Boeing 777 with 229 people on board had gone missing on Saturday morning, Azharuddin and other Malaysian officials have drawn flak over their responses.
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