I don’t even know where to begin. I guess let’s start with
the elephant in the universe: Italy is not going to the World Cup this year.
Why? On the surface, it seems they struggle with finding a good coach,
appropriate callups, not enough talent, not enough youth, etc. But it goes so
much deeper than that. There is an infrastructure that was created by the
actual dinosaurs who lived in the area now known as Italy that has not been
updated since. And there is a culture of suspicion, intolerance, and corruption
that is even older than those dinosaurs. Calciopoli
was both a product of and disastrous result of a complete lack of accountability
and integrity, not only within football, but in the country and within the
culture. The same culture that brought so much to the world in the form of art,
architecture, fashion, amazing food and wine, and other things is also one of
the ugliest when it comes to sportsmanship, character, and basic human decency.
What the hell, Italy?
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| Not my captain |
When a Captain Was Actually a Captain
Juventus were about to be eliminated from this year’s Champions
League, and the referee gave Real Madrid a penalty. Whether or not it should
have been a penalty is a different discussion, but what happened afterwards was
despicable. Buffon, wearing his captain’s armband, launched a verbal assault on
the referee, who showed him a red card. Chiellini made gestures towards Real
Madrid insinuating that they had bought the refs. And as if that wasn’t bad
enough, Buffon’s
postmatch comments were shocking, showing not only a complete lack of
respect for the referees, but also seemingly a lack of knowledge of what their
job is. When he wasn’t saying the ref had a trash can for a heart or
questioning the referee’s competence, he implied that this ref’s job was to
make restitution for his perceived errors made by the ref in the other leg of
this round and to take into consideration the emotional state of Buffon, seeing
as how it could be his last Champions League match. NO. These are not only not
what refs do, but specifically what they are not supposed to do. And as a veteran
of the game, he should
have known better.
Well to make matters worse, when a captain says those
things publicly, the seedy underbelly of the team’s fanbase goes to work. They
made death threats not only to the referee, but also to his wife, who had
nothing to do with any of this. (Oh, and Buffon
has already inspired copycat comments.) If Buffon could have just
exercised some common decency, those fans making the threats never would have
had the impetus to act so horribly. It would have been bad enough if it were
some just some random brute player. But this was the captain, not only of
Juventus, but of the Italian national team. One of the most respected players
in the world. Not only that, but neither Buffon nor Chiellini received any
reprimands or punishment for their behaviors. Nor have they apologized. Buffon
still concedes, even well after the heat of the moment, that he was right, as
do 99% of all Juventus fans. Even with the death threats. Even Gatttuso, who is
most famous for trying to strangle Joe Jordan as a player (as well as many
other indiscretions,) said that Buffon would apologize when he calmed down. But
he hasn’t. And no one at his club has asked him to, apparently. What the hell,
Italy?
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| Why aren't more fans held accountable? |
When Fans Attack
When Roma went to Anfield to play Liverpool, their club
actually laid flowers at the monument honoring the 96 who died in the
Hillsborough disaster. Very classy. Unfortunately, a few of their fans were not
only not classy, but actually barbaric in attacking some Liverpool
supporters. One Liverpool supporter was severely injured and actually left for
dead, now fighting for his life in a coma in a hospital. A Roma club in Ireland
immediately went to work raising money for his family and healthcare costs.
Roma condemned the violence and the attacker, and have shown support for the
victim through social media and even training in special shirts yesterday. They
even helped organize a summit between Italian and English police and the
clubs to try to prevent more violence in the second leg in Rome. But the Italian
officials have not been so classy. They accused Liverpool police of not
doing their jobs, absolving themselves of any responsibility. What’s the most
disturbing is that no one is addressing the fans. While the two fans who attacked
this man have been arrested without bail, what about the legions of others? The
Italian police claim they warned the Liverpool police about these Roma fans
being considered “dangerous.” Why were they allowed to travel at all? How many
people have to die or be beaten to within an inch of their life before we
address the actual problem? What the hell, Italy?
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| A cause to die for, only it's the women who are dying |
Don’t Hit Girls
Italy’s violence against women statistics are staggering.
Despite a decline in homicides in general, the murder rate of women has
actually increased. An EU study shows that 19% of women who are married or with
a partner will be the victim of violence from their partner. That is one in
five. It’s so bad, they
had to go to the kids to try to educate people. And since that didn’t
work, they used Serie A to try to raise awareness. That’s right, the lipstick
smudges on the cheeks of players ten days ago were supposed to stop men from
beating and killing their partners. But their culture of pervasive sexism,
violence, and lack of accountability is unlikely to change because of either of
these campaigns. Even Gattuso has famously said on multiple occasions that
women have no place in football. What the hell, Italy?
Territorial Incrimination
If you are a club other than Napoli, chances are you will be
fined for Territorial Discrimination. What is that, you ask? It is a law that
Italians have made to protect people from discrimination based on where they
are from – insults about their city or area, etc. Non-sporting behavior that
doesn’t belong in football. It makes sense. Only it is only ever applied to
opponents of Napoli, whose citizens cannot tell the difference between chants
about their city and chants about their club, apparently. And neither can the Lega
Serie A. Both Milan and Fiorentina have been fined €10.000 for Territorial
Discrimination in recent weeks, with no investigation. Meanwhile, Napoli
Ultras personally attacked Donnarumma, leaving graffiti near his home.
But no arrests for vandalism, no charges, no fines to the club. Nothing. The
mayor of Napoli had some harsh
accusations after the result of the Derby d’Italia, but there will be
no repercussions for him. Both of these acts are far more intentional and
hateful than whatever songs were sung by fans at a sporting event. And they are
more public, more far-reaching, as well, with social and conventional media.
But Territorial Discrimination only goes one way, which gives Neapolitans free
reign and puts a lot of money in the FIGC’s pockets from all of the other
clubs. What the hell, Italy?
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| A targeted and unpunished crime... but if it had been aimed at Napoli.... |
Racism Doesn’t Count
The same week Fiorentina were fined for chants against
Napoli, all three of the observers from the FIGC heard racist
chants from Inter’s Curva Nord against Juve’s Matuidi. The irony there
being that if Inter were charged, it would invoke a suspended sentence for…
wait for it… Territorial Discrimination. But in Serie A, it’s only racism if a
certain percentage of the fans are participating in it. Territorial
Discrimination, now that has no limitations. But racism, which is far more
insidious and impactful on the players and the game, can only be punished if
someone is willing to say there were enough perpetrators. Because Italians are
far more protective of their territories (which you can move away from) than
they are of a person’s race or nationality (which can’t be changed.) What the
hell, Italy?
Respect
There is no respect in Italy. Not for the refs, not for
reality. I speak, of course, of Inter. The same club that orchestrated Calciopoli
and its lack of justice, conveniently hiding the fact that they were the worst
at colluding with the referees, a fact courts
finally acknowledge now that the statute of limitations is up. They
continually have the audacity to accuse Juve of stealing things, while they
actually wave their paper Scudetto around, which of course was actually
literally stolen, as well as the treble and other titles they only won by
crippling all of their opponents and “stealing” their best players. Most
recently, ahead of the Derby d’Italia this weekend, they announced five minutes
of silence for “all those robbed by Juventus over the years.” Their fans
chanted “Ladri,” which means “thieves” in Italian. Not only is this
insanely hypocritical, it’s highly unsporting for a team which purports to be
able to win things of their own accord.
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| Not only factually incorrect, but hypocritical and unsporting |
But their accusations against Juve have a deeper, darker
implication. If Juve have “stolen,” then that means the referees helped them.
So every time they shout “Ladri,” they are also implying that the
Italian Referee Association is also crooked. How do they get away with repeatedly making such unfounded and damaging accusations? That said, it’s probably not a shock that everyone
from Inter to Napoli to the myriad pundits have gratuitously lambasted Orsato
for his performance in that match, publicly undermining him and all referees.
So much so that Orsato and his family have received death threats and their
home is under police surveillance. Which is so wrong, because his decisions
cannot be overturned even if he wanted to. But they are allowed to be verbally overturned
and undermined by people who work for Inter, people who get paid to talk about
football, etc. There is no respect for the referee anymore, despite the
addition of GLT and VAR. And because of that unchecked, hateful climate Orsato and his family fear for their
lives. Football is supposed to be a game, not a matter of life and death.
And speaking of life and death, Orsato is not the only one
living in fear after that match. Inter defender Davide
Santon and his partner have also received death threats because of his
performance against Juve. As his partner said, “It’s not okay.” What the hell,
Italy?
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| Not worth killing for |
There is no respect for the rules or for those who apply
them anymore in Italy. Fans are increasingly abusive and violent, with
virtually no repercussions for them. Without any accountability, the problems grow as exponentially as the posts go viral. Football is just another medium to promote
things that other people in other countries already know. Many of the countries
who actually did qualify for the World Cup know that protecting people should
come before protecting territories. And that showing tolerance and respect is
not only sporting, but also a basic tenet that decent human beings subscribe
to. This summer, Italy will be sorely missed in Russia. And I wish they would take the opportunity to address their deep-seeded issues and lack of
accountability or integrity, at least in football. But most likely, they’ll be busy blaming someone
else for their failures. What the hell, Italy?
This post inspired by the music of
Oingo Boingo’s “No Spill Blood”
Our next match is
Serie A Week 36
Milan vs. Verona
Saturday, May 5 •
18:00 CEST (12noon EDT)