MotoGP issues apology statement after showing distorted map of India

After the backlash from social media users, MotoGP put out a statement in the afternoon on X, formerly known as Twitter, to apologize for the mishap.

File Photo: Franco Morbidelli (21) of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team, Luca Marini (10) of Mooney VR46 Racing Team and Francesco Bagnaia (1) of Ducati Lenovo Team during a free practice session ahead of Grand Prix of India at the Buddh International Circuit, in Greater Noida, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI Photo/Vijay Verma

The initial day of racing action got underway at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit here on Friday, with two major talking points clouding the smooth racing action taking place on track.

Fans took to social media to mark out a distorted Indian map shown during the broadcast of the day’s action in the morning, which left out areas from Jammu and Kashmir from the outline of the country.

After the backlash from social media users, MotoGP put out a statement in the afternoon on X, formerly known as Twitter, to apologize for the mishap.

“We’d like to apologize to our fans in India for the map shown earlier as part of the MotoGP broadcast,” the statement read.

“It is never our intent to make any statement other than that of support and appreciation for our host country.”

Recently, Canada-based Punjabi singer Shubhneet Singh, popularly known by his stage name Shubh was at the centre of controversy after one of his old Instagram stories resurfaced where he shared a distorted map of India on his Instagram story, omitting the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and the Northeastern states.

Along with the picture, the singer wrote, “Pray for Punjab”, for which he received severe backlash on social media.