Dalmatian Fouled for 'Being Unpopular' at Idol Athletics Competition?

Group Dalmatian is facing the controversy of being treated unfairly. On the 27th, the MBC Chuseok special program ‘The 3rd Annual Idol Star Athletics Competition’ was held at the Seoul Jamshil outdoor stadium and despite Dalmatian winning first for a relay race and having to re-do the race, they were fouled out twice.

The unfair treatment of Dalmatian was brought up on a fan site on the 29th as from there, it began to spread quickly. Fans who were present at the athletics competition said, “Dalmatian was first in the fast-walking relay race and after being fouled, they re-did the match and placed 1st again, only to be fouled once more,” beckoning the question of fair treatment in regards to Dalmatian being fouled.

A fan who was watching the relay said, “It didn’t look like a foul” “And just because they’re rookies with not-so-much popularity, I’m worried and upset that this might be the reason for it.” The report of this account spread quickly throughout the internet and those who do not know much information in regards to the relay race even agreed that this was an unfair treatment. 

However, according to a representative of MBC who spoke with Sports Seoul through the phone denied it, saying, “That’s not the truth” and “The problem was because all of the runners in the relay race were fouled for running which was the problem. Using the slow-motion camera, it was declared that despite it being fast-walking, all the runners were running, causing a re-match.” In regards to the calling of the second foul, they said, “For ‘Idol Star Athletics Competition,’ we never reveal the results, sports categories, and those who compete aside from the 100m race” and “Everything will be revealed on broadcast.” 

Due to ‘Idol Star Athletics Competition’ gaining popularity every episode, they have been declared as the Chuseok special. However, despite being a special broadcasting, the production team claimed that leaks of the sports categories and results spoil the excitement for the special, thus saving their words of it. They did explain, however saying, “If you watch the broadcasted episode, all assumptions will vanish and the assumptions in regards to Dalmatian are not true at all,” making their statement clear. 

‘Idol Star Athletics Competition’ is a sports variety program consisting of male and female idol stars participating in sports events. In this episode, Super Junior, SHINee, Sistar, Miss A, Davichi, ZE:A, T-ara, MBLAQ, G.NA, Teen Top, Hwanhee, Baek Chungkang, Lee Taekwon, and other stars which total up to 140~150 celebrities being present at the competition. The Chuseok special will air on September 13.