Czech football commentator suspended for racist remarks

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PRAGUE, March 6, 2008 (AFP) - A Czech football commentator has been suspended for racist remarks made during a live commentary of an English Premier League match, the Czech daily Lidove Noviny reported on Thursday.

The commentator got into hot water when he corrected himself after mixing up two Chelsea players during Saturday's clash between Chelsea and West Ham.

"That was of course Essien and not Mikel, I got confused over their similar tanned colour," the commentator, who has not been named, explained.

Commercial broadcaster Prima TV said the commentator had been "banned from the microphone" for several weeks because of his remarks concerning Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien and Nigerian teammate John Mikel Obi.

"He knew immediately after the broadcast that he had made a mistake," the broadcaster's spokesman told the paper, adding that the commentator was friends with black players and was not a racist. "The matter is now closed for us," the spokesman added.