The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) pledged on Tuesday to step up its efforts against anti-Semitism. Shirts with the number 88, used as a reference to the “Heil Hitler” salute by neo-Nazi groups, were expressly banned.
“We will not retreat a centimeter on these issues, because the credibility of football, also damaged by discriminatory behavior, has a direct impact on Italian society,” said FIGC president Gabriele Gravina in a statement – he signed a text together with the ministries. of the Interior and Sports of Italy.
In the signed document, the football world undertakes “not to give players the shirt with the number 88, considered as an explicit reference in Nazi symbology”.
In neo-Nazi groups, this number is used to say “Heil Hitler”. The letter “H” is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
Two players wore that number last season in Serie A: Croatia midfielder Mario Pasalic of Atalanta and compatriot Toma Basic, a Lazio midfielder.
In the letter signed this Tuesday, which lists 13 points, Italian football also provides for how to be able to stop a game in case of “anti-Semitic chants, acts and expressions” in stadiums.
In March, after the derby between Rome and Lazio, the president of the Jewish community in the Italian capital, Ruth Dureghello, denounced anti-Semitic behavior by Lazio fans.
A photograph showed a man in the stands wearing a shirt with the name “Hitlerson” and the number 88. Two days after the episode, this fan was identified and banned “for life” by Lazio.
In September last year, anti-Semitic chants were also heard among fans of Juventus and Inter Milan.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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