A Greek television commentator wondered out loud to a colleague on national Greek television how Koreans with their slanted eyes can be such good table tennis players.

Shortly after his remarks, which were followed by a laugh out loud by his colleague, Dimosthenis Karmiris was fired by Greek national broadcaster ERT.

The station posted a statement on their website, stating that “Racist comments have no place on public television.”

The conversation between the two journalists came during a segment after South Korean Jeoung Young beat Panagiotis Gionis of Greece in men’s table tennis.

“The Koreans are amazing at ping pong,” the commentator said to Karmiris, who quickly asked rhetorically, “With their slanted eyes, how do they follow the ball?”