Racist rings in football stadiums against young players

Two serious episodes of racism in the Lombardy Youth Championships. Once again, two boys aged 17 and 15 were targeted because of the color of their skin without any of the executives feeling compelled to intervene. The two ethnic insults appeared in both cases during football matches between the juniors, at the great Gallarates Stadium and at the Cosef Villasanta stadium.

in Gallarate

But let’s go in order. On Sunday, October 16, the U-17 Provincial Championship match will take place between the Gallaratese and the “cousins” of Cas Sacconago Amici dello sport, a fraction of Busto Arsizio. We are in the final minutes of the match when an alleged local coach addressed a rival player of Moroccan origin with the word “black”. The young referee pulls the red card towards the sent-off Gallarate coach and returns to the locker room. Inside and outside the stadium lit. In agreement with the substitutes, the boys from the Sakunago Cup left the field to protest the same fact and because neither team felt compelled to apologise.

Only the race director should suspend the race. What you have seen or heard of “The Black Vest” is a top secret at the moment. The arbitration report has not yet reached the Varese commission, on which the two clubs depend, on the basis of which the Varese jury adjudicator of the first instance will issue any suspension with the relevant fines.

For Cas Sacconago manager Massimo Di Cello: “It was the whole team that decided to leave the pitch to support their teammate. We wanted to give a strong signal because we consider everything that happened to be disqualifying. We hope the sports judge will take appropriate measures.” For Bustocca President Lelio Gallazzi: “Once again, the stupidity of some managers is showing in the field. What happened shook not only the black boy, but the whole team and the club.”

For his part, Gallarati President Jezem Al-Mazi announced: “There is a ruling, a report, it will be the sports judge who will take the necessary measures. I believe in sports justice because those are the rules, and only then will we know what really happened.” The president remembers his Albanian origins, and his passion for sports: “My personal history is riddled with racism – and he adds – I would prefer to continue working with the company with maximum commitment

in Villasanta

“No less dangerous is the episode last week at Villasanta where the Monza U-15 Provincial Championship ‘C’ Cosov (rhetorical club) clubs were battling against the same age as Pro Lissone.

There are 10 minutes until the final whistle. In this case, the racism comes from a Lissone player who, after making a game, addresses his opponent with “Go and eat exotic fruits for your country”. At least that’s according to the referee’s report. Indeed, the “exotic fruits”, or bananas with all that the reference to this fruit brings, could have been well identified.

Chaos occurs. On the field, young Kosovars defend their teammates, their opponents from their peers. On Friday, the sports judge at Monza, after reading the referees’ report, suspended the Pro Lissone player until next June 30. Two players and two managers banned for two months.

As stated in the sentence: “The most dangerous thing is that none of the benches tried to quell the anger of the boys in the field, and watched the brawl passively.” Against these episodes, which are bad for the sport, the regional delegates from Varese, Lorenzo Bianchi, and Monza Ermanno Ridelli took a stand: “These are intolerable episodes – as they say – that go against the obligations we have as a federation. Designed to combat ‘intolerance against black athletes’”.