-
Dean Barker talking to ONE Sport - Source: ONE Sport -
Watch Video
-
Related
Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker says he is disgusted by the decision of Alinghi to pull out of their race on Saturday afternoon.
Alinghi decided not to race late in the day, leaving Team New Zealand out on the course for hours waiting for the start of their gold fleet race that they eventually started solo to formally complete it.
Barker told ONE Sport's Martin Tasker " I'm pi**ed off, I'm really disappointed, disgusted...we are here for a good sporting event and I just don't buy their reasoning."
Alinghi made the decision not to race because they would not have gained a point even if they beat the home team.
As the host, Team New Zealand are racing in the round robins before going straight through to the final but other teams do not gain a point by beating them.
Other teams can lose points through penalties though and both TeamOrigin and BMW Oracle were jointly penalised for a collision on Friday.
Barker's response to this - the reasoning that Alinghi have nothing to gain by sailing but a lot to potentially lose - was strongly refuted.
"They need to look at the spirit of this event...it's about trying to do what is right for yacht racing through turbulent times" Barker said.
The Kiwi helmsman also suggested the decision was an insult to the spectators who had turnd out in large numbers to watch the supposed feature race of the day.
"(Alinghi's) decision not to race is an insult...it's disappointing to the New Zealand public...it's completely disrespectul to us as a team and I'm really pissed off about it" Barker said.
He then told ONE Sport that he would not be discussing it with Alinghi as he had nothing he wanted to say to them.
What do you think? Was Alinghi's decision justified and understandable or just another example of arrogance from the Swiss team?
Have your say on our message board below.
Add a Comment:
Post new commenttom scarff said on 2009-02-09 @ 17:18 NZDT: Report abusive post
Sad ! This is a Management failiure to allow ambiguous rules which allow this kind of thing. There is a place for "sportsmanship" and "good form" but not in the rule book of an event of this magnitude
gardener75 said on 2009-02-09 @ 11:17 NZDT: Report abusive post
Grant D. said he wanted "friendly games". Well Butterworth and Co gave him thier answer. The whole Alinghi outfit should be rename Alinghi WC. (They are as thick skinned as the well known brick WC.
lofty said on 2009-02-09 @ 10:46 NZDT: Report abusive post
Come on guys, this is a lot of fuss over a set of match rules completely canted in favour of Team New Zealand. Look at what happened in the real world - Team Origin sailed against Team NZ and lost half a point in the process for a dubious penalty - they then sail against them again and win... but get zero points. Why should Alinghi put themselves at risk in case the same happens to them? If you want a series where all teams are willing to sail against each other, then level the playing field.
kevinr43 said on 2009-02-08 @ 18:13 NZDT: Report abusive post
I thought the swiss Milionare could only buy the souls of the New zealanders in his camp, but i suppose to some money means everything and he ended up with the body as well, a bit like darth vader really they have been seduced by the dark side. So very very sad that some people can be bought. All countries should drop the challenge for the old Mug then what would it be worth. Live on the LV Series without Alinghi
mollymalawimalone said on 2009-02-08 @ 17:22 NZDT: Report abusive post
They probably know themselves how despised they are in their own country so are working in reverse to make sure it is fully justified. They know themselves they're about as low as they can go in the world of home loyalty and sportsmanship. What else is there?