Iran opposes 'racist' 2012 logo

2011-03-01 11:02:59

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has dismissed Iran's claims that the logo for the London 2012 Games is "racist".

Iran could boycott the event after claiming the emblem resembles the word "Zion" - a biblical term for Jerusalem.

Iranian officials wrote to the IOC to highlight the perceived link.

Rogge told BBC Sport: "No, it can't be serious. We will quietly reply, telling [Iran] the logo has nothing to do with racism or any political connotation."

The Iranian letter urges other Muslim states to oppose the "racist logo".

In an exclusive interview with BBC sports editor David Bond, Rogge said his response to the letter was "a big smile".

"With the logo, with scissors and some glue you can do whatever you want," he added.

The London logo shows the numbers "2012" in four jagged figures and until now has only been criticised for its design.

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With 18 months until the Olympics, a statement from the London Organising Committee [Locog] added: "[The logo] was launched in 2007 following testing and consultation.

"We are surprised that this complaint has been made now."

The letter from Bahram Afsharzadeh, the secretary general of Iran's National Olympic Committee, was sent to Rogge and stated: "There is no doubt that negligence of the issue from your side may affect the presence of some countries in the Games, especially Iran which abides by commitment to the values and principles."

Iran won a gold and bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to finish 51st in the medals table.

Hadi Saei won the taekwondo title in the men's under 80kg category. The competition saw Britain's Aaron Cook miss out on a bronze medal after some controversial judging.

Iran's other medal came courtesy of Seyedmorad Mohammadi, who won bronze in the men's 60kg freestyle wrestling.

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E-mail this to a friend Printable version Latest info on the BBC's 2012 website see also Profile: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 04 Aug 10 |  Middle East Coe proud of new Olympic logo 08 Jun 07 |  Olympics 2012 Olympic logo 'represents London' 07 Jun 07 |  Olympics 2012 London 2012 team defend new logo 05 Jun 07 |  Olympics 2012 London unveils logo of 2012 Games 04 Jun 07 |  Olympics 2012 Iran leader's comments attacked 27 Oct 05 |  Middle East related bbc links: BBC London 2012 BBC Sport London 2012 related internet links: London 2012 British Olympic Association International Olympic Committee National Olympic Committee of Iran The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Skip to top PRODUCTS & SERVICES Daily and weekly e-mails Mobiles Desktop Tools News feeds Interactive TV Podcasts A-Z of Sports American Football Archery Athletics Badminton Baseball Basketball Bowls Boxing Canoeing Cricket Cycling Darts Disability sport Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Formula 1 Gaelic Games Golf Gymnastics Handball Hockey Horse Racing Ice Hockey Judo Modern Pentathlon MotoGP Motorsport Netball Rowing Rugby League Rugby Union Sailing Shooting Snooker Squash Swimming Table Tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Weightlifting Winter Sports Wrestling blq.setLabel('searchSuggestion', 'Search BBC Sport');

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