Firestorm in Italy over Racial Comments by Soccer Pundit
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Jupiterimages/Creatas/Thinkstock(ROME) — Comments by a sports commentator in Italy have caused a furor.
Italy’s government has called for an end to racism, after a leading soccer commentator and former coach said Italy lacked pride because there were too many young black players.
Italy’s social media erupted when during an awards ceremony, Milan AC coach and TV soccer pundit Arrigo Sacchi said “too many blacks” played in Italy’s under-20 leagues and that Italy no longer had “dignity or pride.”
Sacchi’s comments come less than three months after the head of the Italian Soccer Federation was barred from holding any position with the world soccer federation FIFA for six months over derogatory comments he made about black players.
The latest controversy comes as British authorities investigate an incident in Paris where a video, now gone viral, shows Chelsea fans blocking a black passenger from getting on the subway while chanting, “We are racist and that’s the way we like it.”
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