BUDAPEST, Hungary – The prime minister of Hungary (search) apologized Tuesday for joking that Saudi Arabia's (search) soccer team had "very many terrorists" on its roster.
Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany (search) made the remark over the weekend at a Socialist Party event in reference to Hungary's soccer team playing the Saudi team to a scoreless draw in Istanbul, Turkey, last week.
"I think that there were very many terrorists also among the Saudi soccer players, and our sons fought with death-defying bravery against these terrorists, so a draw away from home is a fantastic result," Gyurcsany was quoted as saying by state news agency MTI.
On Tuesday, he said his comments were said in the context of a TV show parody and anyone who took them seriously was driven by "political intolerance ... or even ill-will."
"I apologize to anyone who with or without reason was offended by that sentence," he said.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox