Media Monster

Bolivian President Knees Opponent In Groin During “Friendly” Soccer Match (Video)

by Glenn Davis | 4:01 pm, October 5th, 2010

It was going to be a proud occasion – the re-opening of a soccer stadium in the Bolivian city of La Paz, marked by a friendly, all-in-fun game between a team led by Bolivian president Evo Morales, and a team composed of Morales’ political rivals. Cute, right?

Well, maybe…until they started playing. Because once that happened, Morales was taking no prisoners. At one point, he was on the receiving end of what he considered an over-the-top foul. How’d he respond? Well, you can probably already figure that one out from the title of this post.

Possibly as good as the fact that the president of a nation kneed a rival in the groin, though, was the aftermath. CNN has the details on how ~~Bolivian news media~~ Morales’ PR machine handled the incident:

The state-run ABI news agency did not mention Morales’ action but detailed the foul that led to it.

[...]

The opposing player kicked Morales hard in the right leg, the agency reported. The player’s cleats left three marks on the president’s leg and caused bruising in the area.

“The president received the violent hit five minutes into the game,” the agency wrote.

People may complain about news media not holding politicians accountable for their actions in America (as is their right), but if you want to see a news media organization really not dedicated to holding politicians accountable…well, look no further.

Oh, and after an incident like this one, our partisan politics in the U.S. look like nothing. Keep makin’ us look good, Bolivia! Video below.