2023-06-28 12:46:50
Football players in Italy will be banned from wearing the number 88 as part of an anti-Semitism initiative on the grounds that the number is a symbol of the Nazi slogan “Heil Hitler”.
And last March, a fan wearing a “Lazio” shirt with the name “Hitler’s son” and the number 88 on it was banned from attending the Romanian club’s matches for life, at a time when the presence of neo-Nazis in public life in Western European countries is shockingly rising.
The initiative, which is being coordinated in cooperation between the Italian government and the Italian Football League, includes the addition of a code of conduct that is compatible with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The initiative also calls for the suspension of matches in the event of anti-Semitic chants or acts, similar to the way racism issues are supposed to be dealt with, according to the Associated Press.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Bentedosi commented that these steps are “a sufficient and effective response to the intolerable prejudice that is often raised in our stadiums,” while FIFA President Gabriele Gravina said that “the credibility of football, which is hurt and damaged by discriminatory behavior, has a direct repercussion.” in Italian society.
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