With the arrival of Di Canio at Sunderland, theres been a huge amount of media coverage on his 2005 interview where he identified as being fascist. In fact, his own political views has pressured a certain Party leader's brother to quit his role as director of Sunderland. However, do you think Politics should have such a role in Football? There are of course many opinions when it comes politics, like football but in general its kept out of football. There are cases where the two are intertwined through a generalised culture (e.g. Merseyside hatred of Thatcher and subsequently Conservatives) and a certain Manchester United's Manager's public backing of Labour. However, when Downing street tries to get involved in the FA and Football in general it's met with a cringeworthy sigh of derision. Football is the public's sport,but is also an extremely powerful resource in this country, when it comes to both economy and even party support. Paulo Di Canio's political beliefs lie perhaps more extreme than we are used to in football. Perhaps victim to misunderstanding due to connections with the terrible Mussolini and Hitler regimes, Fascism is still a very right wing approach and is extremely outdated in most of Europe and perhaps was never a popular approach in this country. However, that doesn't effect Paulo Di Canio's ability to manage; that much is something he'll have to prove in the coming weeks, a very difficult test for a manager thats only ever managed in League 2. Do you think Politics should have any role in Football? Will Paulo Di Canio's political loyalties come back to haunt him in the future?
Unlikely. Unless he signs Suarez in which case his fascist tendencies will then be Suarezs fault As much as I think Di Canio has political views that are polar opposites to mine I don't see why those views should bar him from holding a Prem managers position. Banning him because of his political stance (as long as he isn't advocating anything illegal) would be exactly what the fascists would do. I do think it will raise a few questions from the Mackems fans though and it will certainly be something that will get raised more often now he's working at the top level.
I agree; however I don't think they'd entertain the thought of banning him. I don't think banning a manager has ever been done in the Premier league has it? However, I was thinking along the lines of his acceptance with the Mackems and maybe even his approach to the players. I think the FA will probably, maybe even vocally, disapprove with Di Canio's political allignment though.
No I only mentioned the banning as a thing that Fascists are quite keen on although it would be amusing if they just ****ed him off for being a fascist bastard Basically any highly principled left wing Mackem will probably disapprove but basically most will forgive him (even if he declares he's a Jimmy Nail fan) as long as he keeps them up and gets them playing better. I'm pretty sure the FA will squirm around the subject for a while with a slight "tut tut" but "no comment", then it will all be forgotten by the media soon enough.
Pretty sure we'll see a fair bit of this photo in the coming days though: please log in to view this image
Di Canio has a man-crush on Benito Mussolini, Hitler's former buddy and tailor. I wonder what the media would make of Luis if he had said Mussolini was a misunderstood fellow.. rather I know what would happen. Political views are usually not important but.. when one subscribes to war mongering racist scumbags like Benito Mussolini then one has to question things then imo
Politics do play a role in football as football is part of our society. No way of getting around it Appointing Mossolini is a brave choice.
Up to 1945 many millions of lives were lost. Many a young man that could not turn their backs. But gave those lives so that 68 years on men in posh suits who frequented the houses of parliament could turn their backs while going in search of some American dream all defended by non association. While I can't help but see a reflection in a mirror from a distance and seeing a plastic of convenience and not staying to make a stance on HIS beliefs. Like suddenly seeing his own version of a Japanese knot weed growing and failing to do anything about it. Politics is in football, that is how governments reign control over the working classes, while governing the rules for a modern peace time heard albeit without awful dire consequence of no comparison. Even more reason surely in the luxury of peacetime for that posh suit to make a stand rather than that cry of non association if truly believing something is wrong?
It's feck all to do with his principles, he is just worried about the public outcry. Your signature is correct so why support milliband in jumping on the bandwagon to ostracise somebody just because they have a different political viewpoint
Fascism isn't an issue of politics, it is one of basic human decency. We're not talking about the amount of tax people should pay, but whether certain people even have the right to exist.
I wonder if they will boo and sing the 'Luis Suarez, you know what you are' song next year if they stay up. I might go and ask them.
I'm no fan of either man and not a Sunderland fan. I detest facism and its history soaked in blood. I also detest the Millibands and the rest of NL for their part in the betrayal of the real labour movement. At least on this occasion he is continuing a stand taken by the workers started back against Powell. I can see that he doesn't want to be in a position where he is rubbing shoulders with Di Canio and so thought he had to step down. It may be a matter of appearance but he's a 'Labour' politician & has a responsibility to his party not to give a perception of being aligned with right wing extremes. but in our Supposed liberal democracy, Di Canio has the right to political views and hold employment as long as he doesn't bring his employers into disrepute while there. So calling for his head would be wrong. If I was a Sunderland fan I could tolerate him if he merely does his job and doesn't use the club as a stage to orate his extreme political views. But I do love the way it only became an issue when he moved to a PL club. Obviously he wasn't subversive at Swindon eh? Politics, crudely put is any mixing & confrontation of different belief systems. Its as much a part of sport as of any other aspect of human society because sport is a formalisation of conflict between human groupings.
Nothing to do with political viewpoint. MP's more worried about public outcry than moral principle and as mentioned earlier any views on human decency...seriously? That's even more concerning than I first thought like an award of a white feather.
I'm a dyed in the wool old left wing dinasour and my personal opininion is that i couldn't stomach Arsenal employing a fascist.Saying that i have no time for Milliband and his "new"Labour cohorts.They have destroyed the political party i was once proud to be a member of.
i despise Thatcher, but Michael Howard is as much a Liverpool fan as i am, as was my late uncle: a lifelong Kemlyn season-ticket holder, moaner (all through the 70's and 80's when we won everything!) and working-class Tory. Part-Chinese but hated "bloody immigrants" - go figure! Point is, there's a lot of Tories and right-wingers who are just as passionate about their teams as we are. Di canio reckons he's not racist and i know at least two black West Ham fans who still worship him. As has been said, to ban him for being fascist whould just be, er, fascist.
Politics Labels Left Right Middle One becomes opposite to the other so as to oppose and there for gain support of those who oppose. Taking up policies just because the others see an opposite view, nonsense. The middle pretends to be the well.. middle so as to get those finding left and right too extreme. Politics is bull****, an illusion. We don't need politics, politics needs politics. All of it is to the detriment of common sense and cohesion. Many different elements pulling in different directions with different agendas is to the detriment of the whole, that is true in every aspect of life.
I hope Sunderland stay up now. I can see Di Canio losing his head on several occasions next season and it will be entertaining.
The problem is he's likely to end up with a team of right wingers... that makes crossing from the left more difficult.
