German police have responded to Sir Mo Farah's allegations of racial harassment at Munich Airport, stating that the Olympic champion was filming illegally in a restricted area. Farah posted a video on social media showing an exchange with a police officer, whom he accused of 'pure harassment' during security checks.
In the 47-second clip, Farah is seen being grabbed by the arm and pushed towards the departure gates. He captioned the video: 'Sad to see racial harassment in this day and age. 2018...!!!' However, German Federal Police said the security checks were routine and that Farah was moved on because he was blocking the area and filming where it was not permitted.
A police spokesman told MailOnline: 'Security checks at Munich Airport are carried out by a private security company. It seems that Sir Mo Farah did not agree with this passenger security check performed on him and blamed this check a racist measure.' The spokesman added that Farah was asked to stop recording and leave the security checkpoint, but he ignored the orders, leading the officer to 'slightly touch him and try to direct him away'.
The police statement concluded: 'Finally, the federal police officer was properly carrying out his duty. I cannot see any indications of racial harassment by the federal police officer at all.' A spokesperson for Farah said he stands by his statement and has lodged a formal complaint with Munich Airport and the German Federal Police.
