Fury as MEP Fidias labels paralympians ‘loonies’

Cyprus’ Paralympic Committee on Sunday reacted with fury after member of the European Parliament and social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou labelled Paralympians with intellectual disabilities as “loonies” during a podcast episode.

The committee said it “condemns in the most categorial manner the offensive, derogatory, and deeply regressive comment”, with Panayiotou having made the remark while para swimmer Loizos Chrysanthou was appearing as a guest on his podcast.

“While Loizos Chrysanthou was explaining, with knowledge and serous, the classification categories of the Paralympic Games, and attempted to refer to the s14 category, which concerns athletes with intellectual disabilities, the MEP intervened with a characterisation which is not open to interpretation,” it said.

It added that the term is “abusive, stigmatising, and offensive to thousands”.

“The use of such expressions cannot be characterised as either ‘inappropriate timing’ or ‘humour’. It is a crude insult to people with intellectual disabilities, to athletes who struggle daily against prejudice and exclusion, and to the paralympic movement itself, which highlights the true meaning of strength and human effort,” it said.

It then pointed out that given Panayiotou’s position as an MEP, “the issue is not simply moral, it is deeply political and institutional”.

“We call on the MEP Fidias Panayiotou to publicly acknowledge his mistake and to position himself in a way which promotes respect and awareness,” it said, while also calling on society and the media “to help cultivate a culture of socialisation and equal integration of people with disabilities”.

Panayiotou had made the comment after Chrysanthou had explained to him his own categorisation – S10 – which concerns swimmers with disabilities impacting their legs. Chrysanthou has polyneuropathy – a dysfunction of peripheral nerves which results in numbness and muscle weakness, among other symptoms, in the feet and hands.

He told Panayiotou that “it has to do with movement, endurance, strength, which obviously impact performance”, before explaining that there are a total of 14 categories for para swimmers.

“The last category is called S14, which has to do with mental problems, of the brain, obviously,” he said, with Panayiotou then answering, “S14, you said, for the loonies?”

To this, Chrysanthou replied, “no, my friend, sorry, I do not know if I said it wrong, it has to do with the brain, they have mental problems”.

Panayiotou then said, “okay, the loonies, yeah, yeah”.

Chrysanthou pushed back at this point, saying, “they aren’t loonies”, before saying that he has “a very good friend” who competes in the S14 category.

Panayiotou then asked, “what exactly does he have?”, with Chrysanthou replying, “as I described, in the brain”, and Panayiotou rephrasing his question, asking, “mental? What is the problem?”

Chrysanthou said he does not know “in specifics”, with Panayiotou replying by asking, “does it not show up when you talk to him, then?”, and Chrysanthou answering, “he’s fine, he’s a good lad, I cannot analyse it further”.