FIA defends president after sexist comments emerge

The FIA has jumped to the defence of its president Mohammed ben Sulayem after a sexist comment on an archived website from 2001 were uncovered.

A report by The Times found the old site allegedly belonging to the governing body’s boss and published its discovery on Friday.

The 61-year-old is quoted as saying that he does “not like women who think they are smarter than men,” bringing him further into disrepute.

READ MORE: House of Lords peer hits out at ‘deeply unprofessional’ Ben Sulayem

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The FIA quickly responded to the revelation by affirming its support of Ben Sulayem as an advocate of equality.

“He has a strong record on promoting women and equality in sport, which he is happy to be judged on,” said a spokesperson.

“It was a central part of his manifesto and actions taken this year and the many years he served as vice-president for sport prove this.”

This is the latest in a string of unflattering events involving Ben Sulayem, who recently came under fire for publicly questioning Formula 1’s monetary value.

He has faced criticism for the FIA’s restriction of F1 drivers’ freedom of expression during race weekends, as well as failing to respond to a Liberal Democrat peer’s questioning of F1’s decision to race in countries with poor human rights records.