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Roma's club veteran Paolo Di Canio, for a controversial gesture initially shown leaving the field in a match against last week, and later repeated in the match with "Juventus", was punished with a one-match suspension and a fine.
Last Sunday, in a match with the "Livorno" team, whose fans do not hide their leftist views and completely disagree with the "Lazio" team's fans, part of whom are considered to be leaning towards the opposite side, the players of the capital's team were greeted as major rivals, and leaving the field the fiery P. Di Canio further fueled passions by showing a straight raised arm - a salutation gesture originating from Ancient Rome, and used by fascists in the early 20th century.
The incident caused a major uproar in Italy, and received negative evaluations from football officials, players, politicians, as well as from the Jewish community. FIFA President Sepp Blatter also commented on the incident, indirectly mentioning possible strict penalties for racism and discrimination.
"It was a foolish gesture. This is not the first time he has done this either. There are certain rules, and I think the Football Association should take some action.", - said "Livorno" goalkeeper Marco Amelia after the match.
"We have already recorded all of this. My reaction would be that we must strongly oppose all discrimination.", - said FIFA President S.Blatter - "I cannot speak about Di Canio at the moment, as I only know what was reported in the press. But in such cases, sometimes we need to remove players from our family."
Not supporting such actions was "Juventus" defender Lilian Thuram, whose opinion is that such incidents only create a bad image for Italian football: "Gestures like the one Di Canio made are very strange. I think players should set a good example for the fans, and behave impeccably, leaving politics and ideologies beyond the field. I just want to play football - the best sport."
Nevertheless, in the next round of matches against league leaders Turin "Juventus" at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, P. Di Canio, who was substituted again in the middle of the second half, greeted the spectators again with a straight arm raised, but this time seemingly trying to distance himself from the political connotations with the same movement and waved to the audience.
On Monday, the Discipline Commission of the Italian Football League summoned the player and informed him that he was to be suspended for one match and fined 10,000 euros for the "gesture, which could be interpreted as fascist". So Di Canio will miss just one match - Wednesday's "Lazio" trip to the home arena of "Lecce" at the Stadio Via Del Mare.
Rome-born P. Di Canio was already punished for the same gesture in January 2005, when he showed it to his fans celebrating a victory against eternal city rivals AS club. The striker himself evaluates his behavior normally and claims that it is a normal and non-political greeting to the fans after a goal, and left-wing politicians simply try to make a scandal out of it.
"It's a completely normal greeting and that's my identity. I believe in certain things and express my opinion as a free man. I don't see anything shocking or controversial here." - Di Canio said. - "Some people try to take advantage of this gesture of mine and express themselves, because in Livorno we played in a "red" city. I am disgusted by the fact that politicians interfere in football just to appear and create a "monster" for the public."
Player defended by "Lazio" coach Delio Rossi: "I don't think his actions are related to racism and, without justifying this gesture, I also don't want this club and its fans to be considered political extremists or racists."
"If Di Canio's gesture is political, then when the pope raises his hand, he also makes a political gesture. The player simply expresses his affiliation to a certain group, club, or team in this way." - said Roma's club president Claudio Lotito.
