Fascism row to the fore as Sunderland manager Di Canio faces press

SUNDERLAND, United Kingdom (AFP) –

Paolo Di Canio at Rome’s Olympic stadium, playing for Lazio, on 17 December 2005. Di Canio, who took over as the new Sunderland manager, faced a barrage of questions about his support for fascism, after his appointment prompted a club director to quit and outrage among many fans.

New Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio on Tuesday faced a barrage of questions about his support for fascism, after his appointment prompted a club director to quit and outrage among many fans.

The club in northeast England, a former industrial area built on coal mining, ship-building and heavy industry, also provoked the ire of one trade union, which has demanded that they remove its banner from their Stadium of Light ground.

Di Canio, facing the media for the first time since succeeding Martin O’Neill on Sunday, was repeatedly asked whether he was a fascist, in reference to a statement he made in 2005 when he said: “I am a fascist, not a racist”.

The former Lazio, Celtic and West Ham United striker, who was also once banned for giving a raised-arm salute to hardcore fans of the Rome club, responded: “I don’t have to answer that anymore.

Paolo Di Canio, playing for Lazio, gestures to fans at Rome’s Olympic stadium on December 17, 2005. Di Canio, who took over as the new Sunderland manager, faced a barrage of questions about his support for fascism, after his appointment prompted a club director to quit and outrage among many fans.

“There was a very good statement from the club, very, very clear words that came from me. I don’t want to talk anymore about politics. We’re not in the Houses of Parliament. I’m not a political person.

“I only want to talk about football… In 45 years, I’ve never had a problem with anyone.”

The news conference in Sunderland was not carried live by television channels amid the controversy unleashed by Di Canio’s appointment in a predominantly working class area of Britain where left-wing political support has traditionally been strong.

A media officer for the struggling Premier League club, currently two places above the relegation zone, repeatedly tried to prevent questions about Di Canio’s right-wing political leanings, referring reporters to his previous statement.

Di Canio said then that talk about racism was “absolutely stupid, stupid and ridiculous” while Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne denounced the claims of racism and fascism as “insulting not only to him but to the integrity” of the club.

“Anyone who has met Paolo and spoken with him personally, as we did in depth before making this appointment, will know that he is an honest man, a man of principle and a driven, determined and passionate individual,” she added.

Britain’s former foreign secretary David Miliband, though, announced his resignation as vice-chairman and non-executive director of the Black Cats because of Di Canio’s “past political statements”.

The director of Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), Piara Powar, also warned that the appointment was “worrying” given Di Canio’s refusal to clarify or renounce his views at a time of an apparent increase in racism incidents in the game.

Meanwhile, late on Monday, the Durham Miners’ Association, which represents former coal workers, including those who worked at the old colliery where Sunderland’s ground is located, voiced their anger.

“The appointment of Di Canio is a disgrace and a betrayal of all who fought and died in the fight against fascism,” the union’s general-secretary, Dave Hopper, was quoted as saying by the Northern Echo newspaper.

“Everyone must speak out and oppose this outrage and call on (chairman) Ellis Short and the Sunderland board to reverse their decision,” added Hopper, who worked for 27 years at Wearmouth Colliery.

The GMB, one of Britain’s largest trade unions and a key donor to the country’s opposition Labour Party, in 2011 pulled its sponsorship of Di Canio’s former club, Swindon Town, when he became manager.