4-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah says he was 'racially harassed' at Munich Airport — but police told us he got upset over a standard passenger security check

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March 7, 2018 12:51 PM

German police deny four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah suffered any racial discrimination at Munich Airport.

Britain's all-time most successful distance runner claims he was racially abused at an airport in Germany.
Mo Farah, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, posted a video on Instagram to explain that the incident was "pure harassment."
But Germany's federal police denies Farah suffered any discrimination — and says it was all down to a standard security check.

A four-time Olympic gold medalist claims he was racially harassed at an airport in Germany — but it all may be down to a simple misunderstanding.

Mo Farah, Britain's all-time most successful distance runner, traveled through Munich Airport on Monday as part of his journey to Ethiopia to prepare for the upcoming London marathon on April 22.

According to Press Association Sport, Farah's spokesperson said the athlete suffered a "racially motivated" altercation with a law enforcement officer at the airport.

It is unclear what exactly the altercation was, but according to Munich police, it was all down to a standard passenger security check.

Farah published an Instagram Live video after the ordeal, but there is no obvious racial abuse included in the clip. The video shows Farah protest when an officer appears to nudge him toward the airport gate, but it is unclear if, or when, the 34-year-old was discriminated against.

Business Insider contacted Munich Airport and the Germany Federal Police for clarity.

After speaking to the law enforcement officer in Farah's video, as well as the third party security who conduct checks, Christian Köglmeier of the Federal Police department at Munich Airport told us that "Farah did not agree with passenger security checks." He then "blamed this check [as] a racist measure."

This is Köglmeier's statement in full:

Regardless, Farah felt the incident was "pure harassment," adding on Instagram: "[It is] sad to see racial harassment in this day and age — 2018."

You can watch his video here:

Sad to see racial harassmen... @ gomofarah

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