RFERL:

When an Afghan TV host highlighted censorship on neighboring Iran's state-controlled broadcaster, it didn't go down well with everyone.

Former soccer player-turned-sportscaster Ali Ansarian responded by suggesting that Iranians are better off than Afghans. He said his Afghan counterpart, Amanullah Qaisari, should stick to reporting and refrain from commenting on the state of affairs in Iran.

"Dear friend, we've seen things that you've never seen," Ansarian urged Qaisari via Iranian TV. "Also, remember that you're talking about a country to which you owe a lot. So, do your report and don't interfere in these things."

But it was the way he said it that angered some.

Persian is spoken in both Iran and Afghanistan, but the accents and some vocabulary are slightly different.

Ansarian, whose 15-year soccer career included call-ups to the Iranian national team, appeared to be mocking the Afghan dialect of Persian, known as Dari.

Some social-media users were quick to condemn Ansarian's comments as "racist" and "insulting" while describing his mockery of Dari accent as tasteless.

Many apologized to Afghans for Ansarian's "ugly" comments.

Go to link