So while campaigning for FIGC President, Carlo Tavecchio
made a racist comment. The Italian Disciplinary Committee “investigated” the
matter and determined he did not do anything wrong. Yesterday, UEFA, who had
held their own investigation, found that he did. They have banned him from
participating in a UEFA congress or holding any position in UEFA for six
months. Also, he will have to organize a special event in Italy to help raise
awareness of racism and increase compliance with UEFA’s policies on racism. He is not stepping down, and the FIGC has vowed to support him. Basically, neither Italy nor Tavecchio know what racism is or isn’t. Oh, Italy…
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| "It's okay, Carlo, I've got your back." |
I have written about racism in Italy before, both on a
very serious note and also adding a slight bit of humor in offering ideas for
dealing with people who are guilty of racism. But I don’t even know
what to write about Tavecchio. Here he is the one charged with enforcing all of
the FIGC and UEFA policies, and he didn’t even see anything wrong with what he
said. Neither did Italy, though, and that is both shocking and disturbing. One
person did stand up, former Milan player Demetrio Albertini. He stood up and
ran against Tavecchio, and more recently, apparently resigned as vice president
of the FIGC. But one voice is not enough. This is a huge problem that needs the
masses to fix.
All of my life, I have looked to Italy as a travel
destination and place of culture and beauty. I studied the language, learned to
cook the foods, worshipped the fashion, and became obsessed with calcio. I very seriously considered moving there, even
as I had a family, because I was so in love with everything I knew about the
country. But I guess every country has its down side, and the racism and sexism
that are so rampant in Italy are a gigantic down side for me.
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| "You mean if we eat this banana in public, people will believe we're not racist? Sweet." |
That Tavecchio has made comments both racist and sexist in
nature and almost no one in Italy stood up to question it makes me physically
ill. That it took UEFA to step in and say “hey, this isn’t okay” is appalling.
I’m still waiting for anyone to say anything about his sexist comments, but the
world is apparently not ready to give that nasty little habit up just yet.
But for me, I have to seriously consider my life choices
now. I was better off before I knew calcio had such a viciously ugly side. And
the more I learn, the more sick it makes me. I don’t even know what more to say
about it, other than vergogna! Shame
on you, Tavecchio. Shame on you, FIGC for continuing to back him. Shame on you,
Italy, for not collectively standing up and making sure that this line is never
crossed again. It is horrific that this ever happened in the first place, and
disgusting that so many accept this barbaric practice. Oh, Italy…
This post inspired by the music of
Rage Against the Machine