By Mark Baber
April 2 – High profile UK politician David Miliband resigned on Sunday from his position as vice-Chairman and non-executive director at Sunderland football club in protest at the appointment of Paolo di Canio, citing the new manager’s past political statements.
Paolo Di Canio, who was appointed shortly after Martin O’Neil was sacked on Saturday, has described himself as a fascist, though claims his statements had been mis-interpreted.
David Miliband, who is a former foreign secretary and brother of the current opposition leader, made the announcement as Di Canio’s appointment as the club’s manager on a two-and-a-half year deal was officially confirmed.
In a short statement posted on his website Miliband said: “I wish Sunderland AFC all success in the future. It is a great institution that does a huge amount for the north-east, and I wish the team very well over the next vital seven games. However, in the light of the new manager’s past political statements, I think it right to step down.”
In 2005 Di Canio told Italian news agency Ansa: “I am a fascist, not a racist,” and in his autobiography he wrote of Mussolini: “His actions were often vile. But all this was motivated by a higher purpose. He was basically a very principled individual.”
Miliband announced last week that he is quitting as an MP to become CEO of the International Rescue Committee in New York.
Sunderland’s chairman, Ellis Short issued a statement on the relegation-threatened club’s website saying, “Paolo is hugely enthused by the challenge that lies ahead of him. He is passionate, driven and raring to get started. The sole focus of everyone for the next seven games will be to ensure we gain enough points to maintain our top-flight status. I think that the chances of that are greatly increased with Paolo joining us.”
In an interview on the Sunderland site, Di Canio said his priority was to achieve Sunderland’s survival in the next seven games, that the players had quality but “something went wrong in the past, but I don’t want to judge anyone.” He intended to instil a “winning mentality”, was a “strict person who believes in discipline”, the “players don’t have to love me, they have to follow me” and they would have to “sacrifice for the cause”.
Asked about the political controversy surrounding his appointment, he said he had a normal family, his best friends in England include black players such as Trevor Sinclair, Chris Powell and Shaka Hislop, and his statements had been taken by the media in “a very negative way” in a “long interview”. He further stated that he didn’t want to talk any more about politics a he is “not a political person”.
Sunderland this past weekend celebrated a new partnership between the club and the Nelson Mandela Foundation with a series of Nelson Mandela Day events before the match against Manchester United last Saturday. “This is an honour,” said Miliband, in advance of the event. “A validation of what we’re trying to do as a club.” The day following the match Miliband resigned.
Sunderland’s shirt sponsors are Invest In Africa. The appointment of di Canio has lead to questioning of the future of this sponsorship though there has been no announcement from either Invest In Africa or the club in this regard.
Contact the writer of this story at mark.baber@insideworldfootballcom