Malvinas/Olympic ad Argentine hockey player left out of Games warm-up in Malaysia
The Argentine hockey player filmed training on the Falkland Islands in a controversial video that caused a furor in Britain last week has been dropped from Argentina’s final Olympic Games warm-up event.
Fernando Zylberberg, a 34-year-old midfielder who has captained Argentina, was not included in the 18-man squad for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia posted on the Argentine Hockey Confederation website www.cahockey.org.ar
The other teams participating in the six-nation tournament from May 24 to June 4 are the hosts, India, Pakistan, South Korea, New Zealand and Britain.
A veteran of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, Zylberberg was in the Argentina side that qualified for London as Pan-American champions last year and his absence in Malaysia does not mean he is definitely discarded for the July 27-August12 Games.
The Argentine state-supported television advertisement aired in the run-up to the London Games and featuring Zylberberg was branded by Britain as “tasteless and insulting”. The Falkland Islands elected government described the spot as a piece “of cheap and disrespectful propaganda”.
It shows Zylberberg running past symbolic landmarks on the Falklands, the South Atlantic Islands over which Argentina claims sovereignty and invaded them in 1982, until expelled by a British task force 74 days later. Among the landmarks Zylberberg is filmed exercising on the steps of a war memorial to British soldiers from the Battle of the Falklands.
It ends with the strap line: “To compete on English soil, we are training on Argentine soil.” Argentina claims sovereignty over the islands it calls Malvinas.
The Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) issued a statement on Tuesday distancing itself from the advertisement.
“…using the Olympic Games to make political gestures of any kind is not acceptable and we will conduct ourselves in the proper Olympic spirit in all that we do in London and elsewhere,” COA president Gerardo Werthein said.
On Sunday athletes’ representative in the COA, Juan Curuchet warned about the impact of the spot for the Argentine competitors.
“The spot couldn’t have been worst ill-timed: Zylberberg has been really affected by all that has happened and is being said about him. And I don’t even want to imagine what could happen and how our athletes could feel if they are booed during the opening ceremony (in London). How can they compete after that?” said Curuchet who was track cycling gold medal in Beijing and holds the Argentine record of competition in Olympic Games: six times.








76 comments Feed
Note: Comments do not reflect MercoPress’ opinions. They are the personal view of our users. We wish to keep this as open and unregulated as possible. However, rude or foul language, discriminative comments (based on ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or the sort), spamming or any other offensive or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Please report any inadequate posts to the editor. Comments must be in English. Thank you.
I wonder who owns that bike outside Penguin News office showed in the commercial?
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lSlyQp9NAoM
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lSlyQp9NAoM
Funny thing is, is that you dont see the tragedy of one of your own country mens situation and baltantly dont care! this selfish attitude (adopted by the hardcore Malvinists) is harmfull and you dont see it!!
You are a sad selfish and blind!
You may be interested in the works of the Gleichschaltung. Most of their stuff was in Black and White, but you should still check it out! I think it'll be right up your chocolate alley :-)
Its an epic bit of trolling.
The falklands looks really lovely in it.
First the story of the Argentine government demanding trade balances to obtain their training gear they need to best represent their country and now this.
This country is horribly disjointed and fragmented.
The funny thing is that the video talks about an idea in which Argentina and SouthAmerica believe, that the UK has a colony in the SouthAtlantic Ocean. It doesn't lie about other people, the British Government and the corporate media that supports them have been really talking about Argentina as if it was an aggressive not pacific country that threatens islander's life like a nasty monster and nobody asked for an apology... No Argentinian is expecting for one, we know where all those lies come from and took them with calm.
So why do these conservative little group of business british men and other ultra-nationalist british sectors of society should feel so angry and touched by this video?
The British Foreign Office gives not certain information about Argentina and its intentions regularly and nobody is asking them to shut their mouth up, what right do they have to ask Argentina to stop expressing the idea that Argentine people has?? I think they are not ok with the freedom of speech.
Well, after all British Government has even discussed the possibility of shutting down social networks after riots in London. What can the rest of the countries expect if they don't even want to listen to their own british citizens??
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hslfklj41eg
Of course they don't want discussions and controversy about colonialism, they are being exposed.
After all I believe that the video wasn't really took as an offense by too many people, it is just that it is not good for the British Governments and economic groups that make money out of this colony, the reason is not respect or offenses, the reason is that they DO NOT LIKE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
I was surprised to see the bike as well.
You would have thought that with a spic in town it would have been nicked.
Are you having a breakdown or a seizure? There are secure institutions that could help you get over your brainwashing and back into the light you know? The truth will set you free.
And if we look at the wider picture the level of discontent in Argentina continues to rise.
As for the rest you posted, well that is nothing but nonsense.
The British press/government/non British official Olympic body took offense to this video because it was illegal, offensive and childish.
If you don't think defiling a war memorial isn't truly scum like behaviour then there is no hope for you.
You are also confusing freedom of speech which doesn't exist in Argentina (ask the economists) with a illegal and offensive act.
The fact that they used fake profiles of famous people to try to influence their dumb supporters shows the kind of people they are. And worse, the kind of people that support CFKC. Not. Very. Bright.
K-Tweeter /keɪ ˈtwitər/
noun.
1. A type of Argtard who cannot get a date nor an er3ction.
Superb.
was it worth it, Fernando?
nobody twisited his arm, he didnt have to take part in his countries political antics, but......He did! I doubt very much that hes losing sleep.
He probably saw his involvement as a double win whammy for himself but hadn't thought through what other consequences might transpire from his actions.
He's learnt one lesson - act in haste and repent at leisure.
Hockey player in controversial Falklands advert 'to miss London Olympics'
Fernando Zylberberg, the hockey player who worked out on a British war memorial during a controversial Falklands advert, is set to miss the London 2012 Olympics.
By Our Foreign Staff 9:55AM BST 09 May
Zylberberg shot the advert ahead of the London games with the boast: To compete on English soil, we are training on Argentine soil.
The Argentine government has ignored international condemnation and laughed off criticism of the advert, with Cristina Kirchner, the President, saying its creativity should be recognised and applauded.
But she has been left red faced after it emerged the hockey player has been left out of a pre-Olympics hockey tournament and will almost certainly be passed over for London.
The ad starring him, condemned as tawdry and cowardly by Falklands survivor Simon Weston, is now expected to be dropped from Argentine TV screens.
A source close to the ad agency behind the video admitted: Fernando missing the Olympics would be a bit of an embarrassment.
He was picked because we thought he'd be a dead cert for the event. I suspect the ad will be quietly dropped now.
It's difficult to see how you can make propaganda based on an Olympian training on disputed territory when it turns out he's not going to go to the Olympics.
Another added: Everyone involved in the project feels pretty silly at the moment.
What was trumpeted as a kick in the teeth for Britain has turned out to be a spectacular own goal.
There's a little-bit of wound licking going on at the moment.
Cristina Kirchner never envisaged for one moment when she was making political capital out of the video that Fernando would be left out of the Olympics.”
Fernando Zylberberg trains on the island's Great War Memorial, which honours British sailors who died in World War I (AFP/Getty Images)
Zylberberg, expected to make the cut for what would have been his third Olympics, has been virt
Makes the tag line quite amusing though.
I wonder if they are puzzling how to turn this and other articles here today into a positive news story for Argentina?
The film compavy broke the Law here by using private property in a commercial advert without the owner,s consent - the land outside the house he was filmed starting from.
The athlete himself also committed trespass by entering that area.
Falklands are british territory - so it is quite a strong possibility that the private prperty owners here will make a case to the Police here - which would then be transmitted to Scotland Yard which would mean that the athlete himself could be liable to arrest on arrival at immigration in UK - transferred to a flight to the Falklands under police escort - flown here and appear before a Magistrates Court in Stanley and fined.
I think it would be a good move by Argentina to drop him from the team to save a lot of embarrasment to you folks!
The PR Company themselves, if taken to court- well we know the BA office will ignore it, but we can sue the parent company in UK - who would extract the money from BA office anyway - or even close it down.
Your President obviously has never read the famous saying - When in Hole full of Shit - Stop Digging!
May 09th, 2012 - 12:45 pm
Idle, I don't want to disapoint you, so I'm presenting myself instead of the malvinista muthaf***ers.
There is really nothing to comment on here, the Zylberberg twit needed the money from the TV spot to help him in training for the Olympics as the Government here don't help at all. Unfortunately he wasn't bright enough to see what would happen to him:
Chucked off the team.
Made to look a right tit.
Lost his reputation as a sportsman throughout the world.
Probably lost his job as a player in Spain.
It was not a good deal!!!
CFK could well order them to wear some sort of controversial Malvinas logo at the eleventh hour but nobody will care outside of Argentina, the Falklands or the UK. It certainly won't make the news for the majority of the 2 billion-plus expected global audience.
#9 Nothing further from reality, how can you explain that in Argentina the corporate media is AGAINST the Government and the social media is mostly SUPPORTING IT if the Argentine people is not represented by them? Social networks are bringing more democracy
Exactly.
#46 If the AOC prefer the corrupt IOC over the best President in the world, more fool them
Hmm, wonder if el presidente will be in the audience urging them on, all in black.
after all, he has been used screwed and lost his job,
loyalty, makes you think twice .
What a bunch of incompetent Neo-Fascist colonists!!! jajajaja
I would imagine they are horrified at this load of utterly predictable crap. Pity it will be next October before they are back so I will miss out on the actual facts of the case.
#53 & #57 No, they stand for a dictatorial model that has no future, Cristina is the people's will and the wave of the future
@5 Not a commercial, Avatar 2
We already know that.You are in Argentine property and you have trespassed....Get out our property squatter!
To miss the London Olympics is a hard blow...
In this case, he's probably just unfit.
You're probably right about his fitness, if the extent of his 'training on Argentine soil' was one furtive early morning run then I doubt he would have made the grade.
I know saving her face is an impossibility unless you have scaffolding and liquid rubber but you all know what I mean. :o)
He knew what he was doing and got what he had coming to him. At the end of the day who cares if he's in the team or not? It's not as if the Argentine field hockey team going to factor in the results or anything.
Anyway, what has the queen got to do with any of this? You ARE British aren't you? I would've thought it was more likely that the Argentine president could intervene. I don't understand why HM Queen Elizabeth would get involved.
the Zylbeberg film :
Ireland's Rugby Giants: Willie Anderson
Anderson’s international career was delayed due to a much-misreported incident involving a national flag in Argentina. In truth it was the sort of ‘boys on tour’ jape that happens wherever young sportsmen gather. The Argentinean authorities over-reacted in the most highhanded fashion. Their ridiculous macho stance made them an international laughing stock – ‘toy soldiers’ with no class. But it was no laughing matter for Anderson who was detained for almost three months, made aware that two generals amongst the Argentinean junta wanted him executed, and was more than £10,000 out of pocket by the time he returned home.
Back to Zylbeberg : Of course he has been dropped.As the film showed he is old and unfit .
You have a queen that rules over a dictatorship and is loved inwardly by a simple folk. We have a Queen that is head of a Commonwealth of over 50 nations.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!