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Ben Sulayem in midst of controversy over sexist statements, FIA responds
- GPblog.com
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has come under scrutiny after some old statements surfaced. Therein, the former rally champion said he is not a fan of "women who think they are smarter than men". A spokesperson for the FIA says the statements are inconsistent with the president's beliefs.
Ben Sulayem controversy over sexist statements
Formula 1 and the FIA seem to be anything but on the same page at the moment, and Ben Sulayem's surfaced statements will probably not help. "I love the desert and I love meeting real people," he began in the website article. However, something he did not like to talk about was "money, nor do I like women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth."
The comments date back over 20 years and could be found on the FIA president's official website, www.mohammedbensulayem.com. An archived version of it still shows the statements. Confronted with this by The Times, the FIA said it did not recognise the president's views in those statements.
"The remarks in this archived website from 2001 do not reflect the FIA president’s beliefs," a spokesperson for the governing body responded. "He has a strong record on promoting women and equality in sport, which he is happy to be judged on. It was a central part of his manifesto and actions taken this year and the many years he served as FIA Vice President for Sport prove this."
Old statements by FIA president resurface
A screenshot of an archived version of www.mohammedbensulayem.com.