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This video shot in Addis Ababa is at the center of a fierce war of words that bursts between two of the greatest distance runners in history just days away from the London Marathon.
The charges between quadruple Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah and legendary Ethiopian track Haile Gebrselbadie have intensified further, with the British insisting that he was only defending himself against a woman who had attacked him. with dumbbells after being accused of having hit a married couple.
The athletic couple's claims for the tattoo date from March 23, the year in which, according to Sir Mo, a Tag Heuer watch and £ 2,600 cash would have been stolen from his bag in his locked hotel room, apparently by a staff member using the phone. room key.
The hotel, Yaya Africa Athletics Village near Abbis Ababa, Ethiopia, is owned by two-time Olympic champion and four-time world champion Haile Gebrselbadie.
Sir Mo insisted on the damage to his bag (in the photo), in which objects had been stolen, inside his locked hotel room, could only be perpetrated by a member of the staff
On March 23, Sir Mo wrote, "It was my birthday present last Sunday … a person linked to the Yaya Village Hotel where I stayed at training camp used a key at the front desk and broke in in my hotel room. They stole my watch and my money & # 39;
Since the conflict erupted at a press conference yesterday, accusations have multiplied on both sides, including:
- Farah says Gebrselbadie has not helped to recover the stolen items
- Gebrselbadie said that Farah had harbaded him for a £ 2,100 hotel bill, had attempted to "balackmail" before the press conference and had let him fear for his own employees who had spent three weeks in prison.
- Gebrselbadie claimed that he had to intervene so that the police would drop the lawsuits against Farah for a brawl at the gym in which he had kicked and kicked a married couple.
- Farah's coach said that Sir Mo had just defended himself after a woman hit him with dumbbells, but the little incident was soon forgotten.
Today, Sir Mo 's coach, Gary Lough, said that the altercation at the gym had begun as a result of a disagreement involving the copy of the training plan of. Farah and she stepped up when a woman "threatened to launch" two 5 kg dumbbells against the quadruple Olympic gold medalist.
Lough, husband of Olympic legend Paula Radcliffe, was with Farah and his training partner Abi Bashir in Ethiopia when the incident occurred. Gebrselbadie was not present.
In September 2013, at the end of the career of the great Ethiopian, Mo Farah (left) and Haile Gebrselbadie found themselves side by side at Gateshead during the Great North Run.
Mo Farah says employees stole personal items from his bag at the Yaya Africa Athletics Village hotel in Ethiopia (photo), belonging to legend of the Ethiopian track Haile Gebrselbadie
Sir Mo Farah (left) won the Olympic gold for Britain at 5,000 and 10,000 m in 2012 and 2016. Haile Gebrselbadie (right) won the Olympic gold for the first time. Ethiopia at 10,000 m in 1996 and 2000, setting 27 world records and widely regarded as the greatest distance runner in history
Chronology of a crisis: how two of the biggest names in Athletics came to launch charges in public
Unknown date: During Mo Farah's stay at Yaya Village's Haile Gebrselbadie hotel in Addis Ababa, he got involved in an evening out in the gym with a married couple.
March 23: Mo returns to his locked room in the village of Yaya to discover that his watch has been stolen from his bag. He posts a video on Instagram.
Before the press conference on Wednesday 23 April: Farah sends a message to Gebrselbadie to warn him: "I am not responsible for what I said at the press conference in London and the influence it will exert about your personality and your business. "
Wednesday, April 23: Farah told the world press that he had a watch, two phones and £ 2600 cash stolen from his room. He strongly criticized Gebrselbadie for not having sent multiple messages about this incident.
Thursday, April 24: Gebrselbadie responded by saying that Farah had refused the services of the hotel safe, that her staff had been jailed for three weeks as a result of the charge, that she had left a £ 2,100 unpaid bill and that Farah had attacked a couple in the gym. He stated that only his personal intervention with the police chief prevented the arrest of Farah.
Later in the day: Farah 's coach claims that the fight in the gym began when an athlete copied Farah' s drive and then approached his training partner in a manner threatening. He admits that Farah hit the man's wife, claiming it happened by accident and approaching with dumbbells. He said that it was Farah who had contacted the police and that the couple had been warned.
Lough told the Evening Standard: "I'm doing an exercise, I'm turning around and this guy is coming threateningly as he's attacking Bashir and Mo is trying to defend Bashir and hit the other guy.
& # 39; So, they struggle a bit and the woman comes running and Mo turns around without knowing who it is and she was hit on the arm. She had five kilograms in her hands and was threatening to throw them at him. So I shout, "Put those things where you will be in jail."
"The security of the hotel has not done anything. She is in the local police, so she speaks to them, but the federal police chief is involved. There were long statements and police reports, and Haile was relying on hearsay because he was not there. "
The defense is the latest in a series of notable events since Farah claims to have been stealing money and valuables in her room at Yaya Village Resort in Gebrselbadie.
Gebrselbadie had previously claimed that Farah had started the fight. He says to the Guardian: "Farah tells him," Why did you follow me? " "The guy said that he was not – and that he was just doing his job.
Immediately, Farah kicked and kicked them. Especially the husband. There were many witnesses. He can not deny it because there were enough people inside the gym to attend the action.
"Always when he does something wrong or we take care of him, because he's a big name." For example, when he reacted to both athletes in the gym and that he kicked and punched, he was almost in custody.
"But I spoke to the police and said," It's Mo Farah, he's a great athlete, it's an international name. " Leave him.
"The police said," Haile, why do you say that? It's a criminal. "I said," Please, please, please. "He escaped from the police without a case.He left Ethiopia without any questioning.
Farah, whose spokesman issued a statement on Thursday, again challenged the latest claims. As already mentioned, Mo challenges the claims of Haile Gebrselbadie. There was an incident at the gym a few weeks ago, during which Haile was not present but it was in no way a decision of Mo.
Sir Mo Farah warned Gebrselbadie before Wednesday's press conference: "I am not responsible for what I say … and the influence this will have on your personality and your company." Greetings Sir Mo & # 39;
Gebrselbadie said that Farah had received a 50% discount on his three-month stay at his hotel, but he still had a service bill of over £ 2,000 unpaid.
Today, Chala Diriba, a gym instructor at the Yaya Village Hotel, has accused Farah of grabbing by the neck and pushing her into a second allegation. aggression in the conflict.
"He immediately complained to the highest level of the police. Those concerned were warned that any threatening behavior towards Mo would result in police action. This incident once again underlines the inability of the hotel management to take safety seriously.
Their row has increased since the initial flight of March 23rd.
After staying at the hotel since January 18th, Farah returned from a race on March 23rd of her birthday to find that her suitcase had been ransacked. It was missing a Tag watch as well as £ 800 in sterling, £ 1,500 (£ 1,159) and £ 100. (£ 86) and 20,000 Ethiopian Birr (£ 534) and two telephones.
Yesterday, Farah bizarrely used a press conference on Sunday's London Marathon as a podium to accuse Gebrselbadie of poor customer service – after threatening the Ethiopian by texting to do so.
He said on Wednesday: "I have stayed there since January 18th. That morning, I was gone at 5:30 in the morning and I handed the key to the front desk so that they could clean – I was doing it all the time.
"I came back around 16:30, I received the keys to the reception, I went to my room, I lay on the bed because I was a little tired and then I had noticed that my bag was open. I was like "S ***, I left my bag open".
"He was locked but burglarized. Someone got the key to the reception, opened it, took my money, took my beautiful watch that my wife had and two phones.
"The watch was sentimental – it can not be replaced. They were not going to do anything so I called the police, they came to take business, they left, they said they arrested five men but they were released again. & # 39;
He added, "I sent a message to Haile to tell him what had happened, but he did not answer. He did not say anything. He did not answer even though that is his hotel. One of the guys from the hotel called him because I told him I wanted to talk to him and he said, "We are working on it".
"We have two lawyers to examine the issue. I do not care about money, take my watch.
"As a person who pays for a hotel, I am disappointed that they have not taken the measures that are required. No matter who I am – if you stay somewhere for three months, you expect a little more.
"I just want him (Gebrselbadie) to take responsibility for getting my stuff back. It is the responsibility of the hotel to be able to recover it. You pay for each night – you do not get it for free.
"I had to move out last week because I did not feel comfortable."
Farah insists that his preparations for Sunday's London Marathon have not been compromised
Sportsmail saw a text message that Farah sent to Gebrselbadie before the blast.
It read: "I wish to inform you that I am disappointed that you made no effort to recover my stolen money, and especially my watch.
"I tried to contact you several times over the phone. Know that I am not responsible for what I say at the press conference in London and how it will affect your personality and your business.
& # 39; Greetings. Sir Mo. & # 39;
After the press conference, retired Gebrselbadie published an astonishing list of counter-charges in an astonishing statement released that night. He claimed:
- A report was presented to the police about Farah allegedly attacking a married athlete in the hotel gym.
- there have been "many cases of outrageous conduct" with regard to Farah
- Farah left the hotel after two months of stay, he did not pay his bill of 81 000 birr (£ 2 168).
- His badociates were incarcerated for three weeks after the report of the robbery
- that Farah's text warning that he would make the line public at the press conference amounted to blackmail
- and that he would lawfully pursue Farah for defamation.
In an interview with The Guardian, Gebrselbadie added that Farah "handed over his safe to the reception two or three days before the incident."
Gebrselbadie's complete answer to Farah's claims Wednesday afternoon
In response, a spokeswoman for Farah said Sportsmail: "Mo is disappointed with this statement and the persistent reluctance of the hotel and its owner to take responsibility for this theft.
"Mo challenges all these claims that are an effort to divert attention from the situation, where staff members at his hotel used a room key and stole money and items in Mo Farah's room (there was no safe as it was defective, and Mo asked for a new one).
"A police report confirms the incident and the hotel acknowledged its responsibility and was in contact with Mo's legal counsel. The hotel even offered to pay Mo the stolen amount, but to withdraw his offer when he left the hotel prematurely and moved to another accommodation, for security reasons.
"Despite many attempts to discuss this matter privately with Mr. Gebrselbadie, he has not responded, but now that he has already done so, we would wish him or his team Legal Counsel to make contact so that this issue can be resolved. "
The African athletic village of Yaya where Farah was staying when objects were stolen
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