Italy And Racism - An Ugly History

On Sunday Italy witnessed a new low as racist chants were shouted at Mario Balotelli by Juve supporters at a game the player was not even present.
Racism reared its ugly head in Italy once again at the Juventus-Udinese game. The Old Lady supporters seemed to take sadistic pleasure in belittling Balotelli, an Inter player, who was not a part of the game.

Mario Balotelli is by no means a fan favourite. Even the Inter fans give him the stick sometimes for his 'selfish' play. The player has also come under criticism from his coach.

However, booing and racist chanting are two different things entirely. Last year Juventus was handed a one match stadium ban after their supporters taunted Balotelli incessantly in the Juve-Inter game.

The fans insisted that the chants were not racist but directed at the player's unsporting behaviour and arrogant attitude. But for an onlooker the situation was very clear.

The chants this time round however were not fully racist as the "se saltelli muore Balotelli" translates to jump up and down and Balotelli will die.

On Sunday the crowd was shocking in its conduct as for probably the first time was a player abused in his absence. It seemed the fans were preparing a welcome for the player when Inter visits Juve in two weeks time.

The Juve response

The Juve fans were also taunting two Udinese players . This despite the fact that one of their own, Momo Sissoko, who was making a return after an injury layoff, is black.

Sissoko recieved a very warm reception from the crowd who applauded his substitute appearance. "It's absurd chanting against a player who isn't even on the pitch.I hope certain things won't happen again," he was quoted saying after the game.

Ferrara was slightly more cautious in his reproach of the crowd. "I am against any kinds of insults and racial discrimination but if you go to football matches it shouldn't shock you, these are chants that you hear in all stadiums," he said.

While what Ferrara says is true it would be folly to not study the growing amount of racism in the Italian game. Racism is not a new issue and Balotelli has only served to highlight it.

Balotelli Not The Only Target

Italian fans have rather attained an ominous reputation in recent times. While the Ultras have always been known for their passion, their love for the game has started expressing itself in dark ways of late.

One will remember the rain of flares at the San Siro four years ago during Inter's clash with Milan in the Champions League which was eventually abandoned. That was just the start of a flurry of incidents.

One may also recollect the racist taunting of Marco Zoro in the Inter - Messina game which prompted the player to take the ball and walk off the pitch. It took a huge deal of convincing from the Inter players to get him back on the field.

Clarence Seedorf the Milan playmaker has also been subjected to various taunts in his highly successful career in Italy. The same has been the case with many other black players.


A Problem Not Restricted To Football

The racism issue is not exclusive to football alone. Many in Italy have complained of the growing tensions between locals and immigrants. And it is not just black people that are the victims.

In March this year two Romanian youths were arrested for allegedly raping an Italian teenager in Rome. Il Giornale, a paper owned by Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, was quick to declare "The Romanian beasts have been caught".

In three weeks time it was proved that the Romanians had nothing to do with the crime severely exposing Italy's growing xenophobia.

People of Romanian and Bosnian descent have been labelled as gypsies by most people, but in Italy the problem is even more pronounced. Everyone - a group for international cooperation wrote about this problem recently.

The Italian government faced demonstrations last year in Rome as anti-racist groups took to the streets. There has been a steady escalation in racist attacks around the country and urgent steps need to be taken to curb this growing menace.