Question for El-ahrairah

Could our resident Italian Soccer League expert comment on this? (via Drudge)

(Note: Instead of writing a comment, just update this post)

Update: This is the first that I have heard of this, so either I need to follow soccer more closely or this is just a tempest in a teapot. The act in question happened during the 6th of January derby between AS Roma and SS Lazio, both based in Rome. Before passing judgement, we need to remember a few points:

1. SS Lazio was the fascist soccer team during the time of Mussolini.

2. The game wasn't just any old game. It was a derby between two sides that loathe/hate/despise each other. It had the same significance for Italian fans as the Glasgow Celtic/Glasgow Rangers derby in Scotland. Think more along the lines of "Soccer isn't life and death. It's more important than that."

3. Mussolini's granddaughter, Alessandra (who is a real Italian hottie and for all you porn downloaders out there, yes there are nude pictures of her on the 'net) was greatly pleased by the gesture.

4. The gesture looks kind of like a Nazi "Sieg Heil" salute to me, but if this gesture is called the "Roman" salute, to me, that means that it was around before the fascists. I coud be wrong, but I can imagine Caesar's legions doing the same thing and saying "Ave Caesar!"

5. It's rather troubling that even gestures can be outlawed. Since we are proceeding down the proverbial "slippery slope", what comes next? Words and thoughts?

Having said all that, I would think that the controversy is just a "tempest in a teapot". This was during THE derby of Italian soccer. Lazio has been on hard times as of late and they won the game 3-1. Di Canio was probably just celebrating and being born a Lazio fan, he probably knows all the history of the team. He was just "saluting the fans" and that is all. Whether he should be disciplined for it is another matter. Luckily for the US, we have freedom of expression (as long as it is acceptable to the liberal Blue states). Being disciplined because somebody does a former fascist saulte is assinine. Like I said, first comes gestures, next words (no speaking German, the language of Hitler) and thoughts (No more library cards) and Bingo! We have come full circle back to fascism. Sounds kind of a liberal utopia to me. Outlawing prayer and burning bibles is a liberal wet dream.