No room for racism in sport, says Varadkar amid Gymnastics Ireland row

Leo Varadkar said there is no room for racism in sport amid a controversy around a young black gymnast not receiving a medal at a presentation ceremony.

A clip of the incident at a gymnastics event in Dublin has gone viral in the last week.

The young gymnast is seen lining up with other children awaiting the presentation of medals for participating in the Gymstart event.

However, the official moving along the line giving out the medals does not present one to the young black girl.

Mr Varadkar described the clip as “very sad”.

The incident happened in March 2022 but has only gained public attention in recent days.

US four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles is among those who have expressed support for the girl, who is now 11, saying the clip “broke my heart”.

The girl’s mother, who does not wish her daughter to be named, complained to governing body Gymnastics Ireland at the time and participated in an independent arbitration process to secure a public apology.

Gymnastics Ireland issued an unreserved apology earlier this week, acknowledging the incident should not have happened.

However, the gymnast’s mother has criticised the governing body for taking 18 months to say sorry publicly.

Mr Varadkar was asked about the controversy as he spoke to reporters in Co Kildare on Friday.

“I saw that video, I only saw it myself in the last week or two, and it was very sad,” he said.

“And I was very sorry to see it and I know Minister (Thomas) Byrne, the Minister for Sport, has reached out to the family and has tried to contact them.

“You know, there’s no place for any form of racism or discrimination or sexism in sport, and I think it is a real shame that it took Gymnastics Ireland so long to deal with it, but I’m glad that they