Bored TV cameraman under fire for cutting away from Olympic hockey to film cockroach

Argentina were beating Spain at time of bizarre close-up of insect

It is a demanding job for camera operators to capture the breathtaking performances that end in Olympic glory.

But one bored cameraman at the Tokyo Games has come under fire after panning away from an Olympics hockey match to film a cockroach.

The bizarre incident happened during the women’s match between Spain and Argentina, when Argentine sports channel TyC showed a close-up shot of the roach as a replay was taking place.

It all took place with Argentina leading the match 1-0 with just over five minutes left to play in the fourth quarter.

The commentator can be heard describing the roach with the Spanish term for it, “la cucaracha”.

Social media users were quick to point out the unusual close-up.

“Olympic athletes competing at a high level? Not interested. Cockroach waddling? Yes,” wrote @stephen_simadi on Twitter.

And Alana Duran joked on Twitter: “When you get a sports media job, but you’re not that into sports.”

“That roach did not need that much screen time,” tweeted @xocyara.

“Me as a cameraman losing focus and filming things I find more fascinating,” wrote another Twitter user.

And another wrote: “Give this little guy a gold medal.”

The cameraman returned to the match in time to see Argentina eventually win 3-0.