The Olympic Games are an event that brings all countries together to celebrate the pinnacle of human athletic ability and unite the world. Of course, this ideal has its limitations, and in reality, it is impossible to completely ignore world politics and conflicts.
Still, some Olympic controversies are decidedly more petty than others. One such controversy at the Paris 2024 Games is over pizza, with Pizza Hut running a satirical promotion of Italy in Hong Kong and Macau.
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Pizza Hut announced earlier this week that customers in Hong Kong and Macau can add pineapple to their pizzas for free until July 31st.
“Foodies can choose Italian Style and add pineapple,” Pizza Hut Hong Kong & Monaco wrote on Facebook (translated by Google Translate), “or Hawaiian Style with pineapple starting at $139 (US$18)!”
The post was accompanied by a graphic of a swordsman with three pineapple loops threaded through his sword.
Pizza Hut’s promotion seems specifically designed to upset Italians by ostensibly trashing one of the country’s most famous dishes: Topping pizza with pineapple has long been a controversial topic, with many considering it tantamount to sacrilege (albeit usually in a joking manner).
But this bit of sarcasm didn’t come out of nowhere: Pizza Hut’s pineapple promotion came shortly after Hong Kong beat Italy to win the gold medal at the fencing event in Paris, in response to the poor reaction to Italy’s defeat.
Hong Kong and Italy Olympic Fencing Controversy
Hong Kong fencer Cheung Kar-Lung defeated Italy’s Filippo Matti in the men’s foil individual competition at the Grand Palais in Paris on Monday to win the 2024 Olympic gold medal. The closely fought match ended 15-14 in sudden death. Matti put up a great fight against the defending champion, who was competing in his first Olympic Games. The judges had to check the video feed twice to determine whether the 15th winning point had been scored, but it was not awarded either time.
Filippo Macchi from Italy and Ka Long Cheong from Hong Kong.
Credit: Al Bello/Getty Images
In the end, a video review of the third disputed point ruled in Chan’s favor and he was awarded the victory. Unfortunately, Chan’s gold medal and match silver medal were tainted by what was perceived as unsportsmanlike conduct.
Shortly after the match, the Italian Fencing Federation (IFF) announced that it would lodge a formal protest against the results with the International Fencing Federation and the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic governing bodies for fencing. In particular, the IFF took issue with the judges’ home countries of Taipei and South Korea, arguing that they were too geographically close to Hong Kong to adjudicate fairly.
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This seems like a strange argument, given that the entire history of international conflict suggests that physical proximity has little to do with whether nations actually like each other, which has led many online to chalk the IIF complaints up to anti-Asian racism.
The tweet may have been deleted
The tweet may have been deleted
The tweet may have been deleted
The tweet may have been deleted
“Filippo Matchi was the real winner and missed out on the gold medal he deserved,” IFF president Paolo Azzi said in a statement (translated by Google Translate). “While the selection of the referees is questionable, the standard of the officiating was lower than the fantastic final we saw.”
The gold medal match was refereed by Huang Ho-chih of Taipei, with Seo Sang-won of South Korea as the video referee. Ayoub Ferjani of Tunisia and Villem Madl of the Czech Republic served as assistant referees. The four officials also officiated Mutch’s 15-11 semifinal win over U.S. fencer Nick Itkin, with Ferjani and Huang acting as the chair and video referees, respectively.
Matt’s quarter-final win over Egypt’s Mohamed Hamza was also managed by Madol and Tim Klaus Badenhagen, who hail from the Czech Republic and Germany respectively, closer to Italy than Egypt is to Egypt.
The IFF has not raised any objections to the selection of umpires in both matches so far.
The tweet may have been deleted
The tweet may have been deleted
Italy’s sour grapes attitude wasn’t limited to IFF officials: Italians and Hong Kongers quickly took to social media to insult opposing players, match officials, and each other. These comments ranged from sharing unpleasant food combinations to more aggressive and spiteful attacks.
But it’s not all scathing: While there are still some mean posts in the Instagram comments sections of Match, Chan and the judges, there are also plenty of congratulatory and thankful comments.
Meanwhile, Mattis led by example, accepting her Olympic silver medal with grace and dignity. The Italian fencer acknowledged that some fans felt she was robbed of the gold medal, but said she was lucky to come in second.
“I’ve heard all kinds of stories, they tricked you, outrageous settlement, I’m sorry,” Matchy wrote in an Instagram post (translated by Instagram). “But I’ve reminded myself that I’m a lucky guy. I’m 22, I have a beautiful family, amazing friends, and a girlfriend who is so beautiful I’m always left speechless.”
“I came second in the most important competition for an athlete. Playing this sport has taught me that the referee’s decision must always be respected. I know both referees and I’m not going to point the finger at them and blame them for my failure, even if it only serves to create an alibi for me. What happened is in the past, it’s already in the past, what happens from now on is up to me!”
Macchi’s mature response seems to have earned him the respect of many people, both from Hong Kong and other countries. Fortunately, the men’s foil individual event is not his only chance to win gold at the Paris Olympics. The Italian fencer will face Poland next week in the men’s foil team quarterfinals. No doubt he will now have a lot more people to root for him.
