Mo Farah claims he was racially harassed at airport

The four-time Olympic champion stopped over in Germany during his trip from the UK to Ethiopia, where he will complete his final training block ahead of the London Marathon in April.

Farah described the incident as “pure harassment” during a stream on Instagram Live, which saw him involved in an altercation with a security officer who is seen pushing Farah towards the departure gates.

The 34-year-old captioned the post: "Sad to see racial harassment in this day and age. 2018...!!!"

A spokesperson for Farah said: "This afternoon, there was an incident at a German airport while Mo was travelling back to his training camp in Ethiopia. Mo felt that the incident was racially motivated and that he was unfairly treated by the airport security staff."

However, the German Federal Police issued their own statement dismissing the claim.

"We emphatically reject the accusation of racism," it read. "Sir Mo Farah first disagreed with the routine passenger security check at Munich Airport. Afterwards he violated security regulations and disobeyed the following police order."

They added on Instagram that filming was banned in the security control area and that the officer behaved appropriately by moving Farah on.

Farah started his season on the road with victory in the inaugural Big Half on Sunday.