Marie-Philip Poulin receives formal apology from Olympic Committee following speech controversy
The International Olympic Committee has issued a formal apology to Canadian superstar Marie-Philip Poulin following recent controversy.
An apology has been issued by the IOC following a controversy involving the star of Canada's women's hockey team, Marie-Philip Poulin.
Poulin, who is from Quebec, was reportedly barred from speaking French to supporters following Canada's loss at the 2026 Olympics to the United States.
One reporter who wished to provide a question in French, was told to speak in English, and Poulin was unable to speak to Francophone fans and thank them for the support during the games as Canada skated off with a silver medal.
It was confirmed by the Canadian Olympic Committee that Poulin was unable to speak in French after the match, and expressed dissatisfaction at the decision by the IOC.
IOC responds with apology for Poulin controversy
The International Olympic Committee gave a response apologizing for Marie-Philip Poulin having been restricted from being able to speak French after the game.
According to CTV News, the COC spoke with the IOC regarding the incident, with the IOC expressing regret at the incident.
Following the women's ice hockey final on 19 February, Milano Cortina 2026 and the International Olympic Committee understand that there was an issue with interpretation at the post-game press conference.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Venue Media Manager apologized to the person concerned immediately after the press conference and did so once again yesterday. We are very sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Venue Media Manager apologized to the person concerned immediately after the press conference and did so once again yesterday. We are very sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused.
The incident had spurred anger across French-speaking Quebec, with political figures condemning the error, sparking criticism about potential English bias in the IOC.
The COC nor the IOC spoke on whether there were conversations had about handling French language media in the future, and if there would be from now on accommodations for non-English media questions.
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