British sports commentator Bob Ballard has been sacked from duties at the Paris Olympics over an “inappropriate” remark he made in reference to the Australian women’s swimming team.

Ballard, who was contracted for the Olympics coverage by French broadcasting network Eurosport, dropped the comment on-air shortly after the team took out a gold in the 4x100m freestyle final on Saturday.

“Well, the women just finishing off. You know [what] women are like, hanging around, you know, doing their makeup,” he can be heard saying in the segment, as the swimmers made their way from the medal presentation.

Lizzie Simmonds, co-commentating with Ballard, said that was “outrageous Bob, some of the men are doing that as well”.

It came after the swim relay team — Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris — stopped the clock in an Olympic record of 3:28.92, claiming Australia’s fourth-straight Olympic gold in the women’s 4x100m freestyle.

Ballard’s remark has been rebuked as a sexist slur by many people on social media, but others feel it did not warrant his removal from the Games.

Eurosport said in a statement, according to The Independent UK, he would not go on to commentate any sport for the two-week duration of the event.

“During a segment of Eurosport’s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment,” it said.

“To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.”

Ballard has commentated on sporting events for more than four decades, covering a range of sports including swimming, diving, ice hockey, tennis, basketball, water polo, football, and cricket, according to his website.

He also runs his own broadcast media company, RHB Productions, out of London and works as a presenter for BBC Local Radio.

It is unclear how many days of the competition Eurosport originally had him scheduled for.

Ballard is yet to publicly respond.