01:28Argentina: Pau Gasol on Summer Olympics, Madrid and the Syrian crisis
Argentina: Pau Gasol on Summer Olympics, Madrid and the Syrian crisis
Pau Gasol, famous Spanish basketball player met with Olympic Committee on Thursday in Buenos Aires, on behalf of Spanish Olympic bid committee. Madrid competes with Tokyo and Istanbul for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
When asked about his opinion on Syria crisis, Gasol said he doesn't have a first hand information, but he wished the crisis would end without further violence.
"Its a very complicated situation. Of course, I don't have all the information of what has happened. What I do see, is the repercussion this has in the children and in millions of Syrians that need to leave their houses and live in refugee camps or wherever they can out of their country. That is something that worries me and touches me. The way this is being solved, I cannot do much about it. I wish this could be solved without violence and that there were no more deaths. I really don't know what is going on in Syria first hand. I know that there have allegedly been chemical attacks and that many people, included children, have died because of that, but this is very much beyond my knowledge", Gasol said.
Gasol stated Madrid's sport's infrastructure as the biggest advantage for hosting Summer Olympic Games in 2020 since "the investment that you need is lower than other candidates. That implies a lower risk for the Olympic games to be held without a problem".
The International Olympic Committee will announce its decision on Saturday in Argentina.
01:28Argentina: Pau Gasol on Summer Olympics, Madrid and the Syrian crisis
Pau Gasol, famous Spanish basketball player met with Olympic Committee on Thursday in Buenos Aires, on behalf of Spanish Olympic bid committee. Madrid competes with Tokyo and Istanbul for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
When asked about his opinion on Syria crisis, Gasol said he doesn't have a first hand information, but he wished the crisis would end without further violence.
"Its a very complicated situation. Of course, I don't have all the information of what has happened. What I do see, is the repercussion this has in the children and in millions of Syrians that need to leave their houses and live in refugee camps or wherever they can out of their country. That is something that worries me and touches me. The way this is being solved, I cannot do much about it. I wish this could be solved without violence and that there were no more deaths. I really don't know what is going on in Syria first hand. I know that there have allegedly been chemical attacks and that many people, included children, have died because of that, but this is very much beyond my knowledge", Gasol said.
Gasol stated Madrid's sport's infrastructure as the biggest advantage for hosting Summer Olympic Games in 2020 since "the investment that you need is lower than other candidates. That implies a lower risk for the Olympic games to be held without a problem".
The International Olympic Committee will announce its decision on Saturday in Argentina.