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Austian Government to Remove Honor from Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone's pro-Hitler comments last weekend seem to haunt the Formula One supremo despite his public apology recently. After he was rumored to miss the upcoming German Grand Prix, at Nurburgring, the 78-year old Brit is now in danger of losing a distinction awarded by the Austrian government a few years ago.

According to the Der Standard newspaper, Austrian sports minister Norbert Darabos confirmed that he is now looking into the possibility of repealing the national honor award. No less than a decade ago, Ecclestone accepted the 'Grosse Goldene Ehrenzeichen fur Verdienste um die Republik Osterreich' (Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold for Services to the Republic of Austria).

I was speechless. I still am,” said Darabos, obviously referring to Ecclestone's comments regarding Adolf Hitler's ability to “get things done” in his interview with London's The Times.

That someone in such an important position makes light of dictatorships is most troubling,” added the Austrian representative.

Being deprived of this honor would probably not trouble Ecclestone too much, as the British official doesn't have that much in common with Austria anyway. In addition, the F1 boss admitted, in the same interview with the Times, that he recently turned down an offer of a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Returning to his comments last week, Ecclestone issued at least two public apologies towards the Jewish people this week, for both Germany's Bild and Britain's Jewish Chronicle. He admitted he was “an idiot” for making those comments and that his words were misinterpreted by the media.
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