October 4, 2022
The brief from today:
Discriminatory chants get punished in Italy
The vast majority of discriminatory chants from the crowd at football matches which are punished tend to revolve around race. Occasionally, however, the chants at stadiums can be fueled by other issues including: classism, geography, or politics. Italy’s stadiums are no exception to racist chants, and they certainly aren’t immune to other forms of discrimination as well. For instance, some clubs like Lazio, known to have factions of their supporters who lean towards the far right politically, have occasionally made fascist, neo-Nazi, or anti-Semitic gestures, during matches. Another blight on Italian fan culture, aside from the obvious racist tendencies, is the geographic tension which sees northern clubs make derogatory remarks towards the southern ones. Discrimination, primarily from northern Italy towards the southern part of the country, is a longstanding issue, with the south being looked at as lowly in class, culture, and even hygiene. This external complex within society routinely seeps into the stadiums, and recently, Fiorentina owner, Rocco Commisso, was on the receiving end of it. During the match between northern side, Atalanta, and Fiorentina, fans of the former targeted Commisso who is originally from Calabria in the south of Italy. Despite moving to the US, and naturalizing, when he was quite young, Commisso is still viewed demeaningly as a southerner by Atalanta fans. This was the reason they chanted some unsavory things towards the Fiorentina patron, and have now been fined for their ignorance. The chants which fixate on southerners are actually termed “territorial discrimination” in Italy, and they receive the same consideration as racist incidents. Atalanta have now been fined €12,000 due to their fan behavior, but Commisso and Fiorentina want more sanctioning than that. According to Fiorentina general manager, Joe Barone, “Not only does the league have to intervene but also CONI (the Italian Olympic committee) and the government.” It’s no surprise that such a reaction is being displayed by the club’s top brass, after all, a measly €12,000 is hardly a deterrent for such behavior taking place again.
Fiorentina owner, Rocco Commisso, was on the receiving end of unsavory chants from the Atalanta fans
Sevilla openly negotiate for a new coach
La Liga side, Sevilla, are said to be openly discussing with former coach, Jorge Sampaoli, to return to his old position after five years away. The problem with this of course is that the actual role isn’t currently vacant with Julien Lopetegui still in charge of the team. Having been there since 2019, Lopetegui has guided the Seville based side to top four finishes in each of the last three years, as well as winning the Europa League in 2020. This year, however, has seen the team struggle early on with only 5 points from a possible 21 leaving them just above the relegation zone in 17th place. As a result, Sevilla have started looking for his replacement before even officially sacking him, which some might consider somewhat disrespectfull. For others, however, recalling Lopetegui’s own handling of previous jobs, and offers, will see this as karmic. In 2016, the Spaniard conducted advanced negotiations with then Championship side, Wolves, regarding their coaching role, but when the Spain national team notified him of their interest in him, he abruptly deserted the English club. Two years later, as Spain were in Russia preparing for the 2018 World Cup, it was revealed that Lopetegui had already orchestrated a move to Real Madrid following the end of the tournament. This news came as a surprise to Spanish Football Federation president, Luis Rubiales, who expected Lopetegui to honor the contract in place which was valid past the World Cup. As a result, a frustrated Rubiales made the controversial decision to fire Lopetegui one month before the competition commenced. If current reports prove to be accurate, Sampaoli will be formally announced as the new Sevilla coach following the Champions League tie on Wednesday against Borussia Dortmund.
Lopetegui (left) could be on his way out at Sevilla with Sampaoli (right) his expected replacement