Yesterday, we published an article stating that the Czech jury votes could face being removed due to a violation of EBU rules regarding the citizenship of jurors. However, the Head of Press for the Czech Republic Ahmad Halloun has since clarified on social media that the broadcaster had received permission in April to have Tonya Graves on the jury. Therefore, the jury scores stand.
Following the publication of rumours regarding the possibility of the Czech jury votes for Eurovision 2021 being void due to the nationality rules that the EBU have in place, the Head of Press for the Czech Republic Ahmad Halloun has set the record straight via his Instagram and Twitter.
Not only did he confirm that the EBU did indeed grant permission for Graves, a US citizen, to be on the jury, he also defended her credentials as a juror for the Czech Republic, where she has been working for a number of years.
We have included screenshots from his Instagram stories below:
We want to thank Ahmad for clarifying the circumstances and apologise for reporting on the story without reaching out to the team directly. We have also revised the original article.
Do you agree with the citizenship rule? Should it be changed for forthcoming editions? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 national final season!3
