Paolo di Canio
Dec 24 2005 10:35
'I'm a fascist not a racist' - Di Canio
Fri 23 Dec, 2:52 PM
MILAN (Reuters) - Lazio striker Paolo Di Canio is to appeal against a ban and a fine imposed following a recent straight-arm salute, claiming that while the gesture is fascist it not of a racist character.
"I am a fascist, not a racist," Di Canio told the Italian news agency ANSA on Friday.
"I give the straight arm salute because it is a salute from a 'camerata' to 'camerati'," he said using the Italian words for members of the late dictator Benito Mussolini's fascist movement.
"The salute is aimed at my people. With the straight arm I don't want to incite violence and certainly not racial hatred," he said.
Di Canio missed Lazio's game at Lecce on Wednesday after he was banned for one match and fined 10,000 euros (6,800 pounds) for making the fascist-style salute during a recent Serie A match.
The former Celtic and West Ham United player first produced the salute during a Rome derby last season.
His gesture has been widely condemned by politicians, players, fans and Jewish groups but he has won backing from some right-wing politicians.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, owner of AC Milan, this week said the salute "did not have any significance" and described the player as "an exhibitionist but a good lad".
In his autobiography Di Canio makes clear his admiration for Mussolini and he also wears a tattoo with the word 'Dux' -- Latin for 'Duce' the name Mussolini gave himself during his rule over the country.
Di Canio was a member of Lazio's hardcore 'ultras' fan group before becoming a player -- the Lazio ultras are known for their far-right sympathies and links.
On Tuesday the sport's governing body FIFA asked the Italian Football Federation to submit its file on the player who once won FIFA's Fair Play Award.
Hahahaha!!!
Dec 24 2005 12:49
#2
Lazio fans are fucknuts.
PDC did a salute at Livorno (unsurprisingly) a week or two ago as well. I'm surprised their fans didn't kill them all.
Dec 24 2005 15:03
#3
Jef Costello wrote:
PDC did a salute at Livorno (unsurprisingly)
Why unsurpisingly??
Dec 24 2005 18:15
#4
Alan_is_Fucking_Dead wrote:
Jef Costello wrote:
PDC did a salute at Livorno (unsurprisingly)Why unsurpisingly??
Cos Livorno are well-known for their leftie following I imagine...
Dec 24 2005 20:56
#5
Livorno are the big left-wing club AFAIK, their fans usually have Che pictures etc up. One of their players was unofficially banned from playing for Italy for lifting his shirt to show a Che T-shirt after he scored for the U21s. He was back in the team recently tho, they must have caved 
I think Juve are supposed to be a bit leftie but I can't remember. Most of the Serie A teams are right wing for some reason.
Anyone know if there was ever a left-wing tradition among football supporters in this country?
Dec 24 2005 21:16
#6
Jef Costello wrote:
Livorno are the big left-wing club AFAIK, their fans usually have Che pictures etc up. One of their players was unofficially banned from playing for Italy for lifting his shirt to show a Che T-shirt after he scored for the U21s. He was back in the team recently tho, they must have cavedI think Juve are supposed to be a bit leftie but I can't remember. Most of the Serie A teams are right wing for some reason.
Anyone know if there was ever a left-wing tradition among football supporters in this country?
Hmmm well Man U a bit. Brian Clough used to let striking miners in his ground for free. Alex Ferguson led a players' strike at his old team once.
Inter (esp Zanetti) are well leftie, support that Zapatistas:
Dec 24 2005 22:06
#7
Robbie Fowler once got fined for unveiling a pro-dockers strike t-shirt after scoring a goal 10 years back or so.
That's interesting though.
Dec 24 2005 22:10
#8
John. wrote:
Alex Ferguson led a players' strike at his old team once.
And is now a major New Labour donor.
Dec 24 2005 22:18
#9
Alan_is_Fucking_Dead wrote:
Robbie Fowler once got fined for unveiling a pro-dockers strike t-shirt after scoring a goal 10 years back or so.
Dec 24 2005 23:00
#10
Alan_is_Fucking_Dead wrote:
Robbie Fowler once got fined for unveiling a pro-dockers strike t-shirt after scoring a goal 10 years back or so.
fuck, was it 10 years???? I've got that t-shirt...
Dec 24 2005 23:16
#11
Alan_is_Fucking_Dead wrote:
Robbie Fowler once got fined for unveiling a pro-dockers strike t-shirt after scoring a goal 10 years back or so.That's interesting though.
he also got in trouble for this bit of genius
Dec 24 2005 23:27
#12
Lazlo_Woodbine wrote:
Alan_is_Fucking_Dead wrote:
Robbie Fowler once got fined for unveiling a pro-dockers strike t-shirt after scoring a goal 10 years back or so.fuck, was it 10 years???? I've got that t-shirt...
Way to show your age, old man.
Dec 25 2005 10:32
#13
John. wrote:
Brian Clough used to let striking miners in his ground for free.
He wanted to ban scabs, too. 8)
Dec 25 2005 12:22
#14
xConorx wrote:
Alan_is_Fucking_Dead wrote:
Robbie Fowler once got fined for unveiling a pro-dockers strike t-shirt after scoring a goal 10 years back or so.That's interesting though.
he also got in trouble for this bit of genius
Yeah I remember that!!!
They don't make 'em like Fowler anymore...
Dec 27 2005 19:34
#15
Jef Costello wrote:
Livorno are the big left-wing club AFAIK, their fans usually have Che pictures etc up.I think Juve are supposed to be a bit leftie but I can't remember. Most of the Serie A teams are right wing for some reason.
There is fascist support for virtually all the big Italian clubs - it's less so for Parma, and Livorno and Atalanta are left wing teams. The difference between Juve and inter as against Torino and AC Milan is that historically the former didn't object to immigrants from the poor southern provinces, while the latter did. If it helps to put it into context, Italy has 2 movements we'd call fash - the Mussolini fans currently in govt (MSI) - who are fascists for an Italian state, and the Northern league, who are fascists for a fictional state of the propsperous northern provinces of Italy.
John. wrote:
Hmmm well Man U a bit. Brian Clough used to let striking miners in his ground for free. Alex Ferguson led a players' strike at his old team once.
Inter (esp Zanetti) are well leftie, support that Zapatistas:
While the individual players might be leftie, I don't think the club is (unless the sole criteria is comparison with Berlusconi-owned AC Milan) and while there is left wing support for them, there's also a fair few ultras.
Martin
Dec 28 2005 18:46
#16
martinh wrote:
There is fascist support for virtually all the big Italian clubs - it's less so for Parma, and Livorno and Atalanta are left wing teams.
As are Ancona and Ternana Calcio. Even Roma has a substantial left-wing support, in part as a result of their bitter rivalry with Lazio. There are plenty of clubs outside Italy with politically leftist fans - St Pauli being amongst the most famous for it.
Dec 30 2005 09:11
#17
The thing that amazes me about Di Canio is how each time this happens, people talk about it as if it is news - he was discussing his fascist views in his autobiography when he was still at West Ham for fucks sake.
The Celtic fanzine TAL even tried to make excuses for him!
At the time Philiosophy Football (producers of trendy left leaning shirts for the football intelligensia) still sold a Di Canio shirt alongside there shirts with Marx, Sartre and Bob Marley's names on, and they ignored all correspondence I sent them pointing out that there hero was not exactly in company with which he would be comfortable. They even carried on selling the shirts.
After we published the article below on the CW website nearly a year ago, I wrote to them again. They did not reply, but they did appear to quietly remove Di Canio from their list (presumeably the stock had cleared!)
9th January 2005
Footballer Paulo Di Canio has never hidden his right-wing beliefs, talking about his support for Mussolini, and his collection of Mussolini memrobilia in his autobiography.
Despite this when he was in the UK Di Canio seemed to be adopted as a bit of an icon, especially by the trendy lefties at Philosophy Football, who sell various football shirts with Marx, Guevera, Camus, Bob Marley, Oscar Wilde etc on the back.
After Di Canio's autobiography came out, Class War wrote to Philosophy Football pointing out he was a fascist, and promoting him as an icon may be a bad idea. They did not reply, but appear to have quietly removed his shirt from their website.
For Di Canio's original stiff right arm activities at Lazio see
Dec 30 2005 09:14
#18
xConorx wrote:
he also got in trouble for this bit of genius
and for inviting Grame Le Saux to fuck him up the arse during a match.
For the uninitated Le Saux was widely regarded as a homosexual in football circles, mainly because he read the Guardian.
Dec 30 2005 10:41
#19
didnt he call le saux gay, to which le saux said he "had a wife and kids", and fowler responded "so did elton john".
fucking headcase. to be honest I think a great deal of it comes across as bullshit posturing and he's just doing it because he has some sort of idol status among the fascist contingent of Lazio fans - he seems to love playing-up to that shite.