July 28 – FIFA has asked the Italian FA (FIGC) to investigate comments made by Italian Football Federation vice-President Carlo Tavecchio (pictured) described African players as “banana-eaters”.
Tavecchio is favourite to win an August 11 vote to take over as president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), FIFA has asked the FIGC to investigate.
Jeffrey Webb, chairman of FIFA’s Task Force against racism, has written to the FIGC asking it to “take the appropriate steps to investigate and decide on this matter and report to FIFA,” reminding the FIGC that the fight against racism is a “top priority for FIFA.”
Tavecchio is reported to have told the summer assembly of Italy’s amateur leagues (LND), which he heads: “In England, they identify the players coming in and, if they are professional, they are allowed to play. Here instead we get Opti Pobà, who previously ate bananas and then suddenly becomes a first-team player with Lazio. That’s how it is here. In England, you need to demonstrate what you have on your CV and your pedigree.”
Shortly after his speech, the 71-year-old Tavecchio claimed that he could not remember what he had said saying: “I can’t remember if I said the word ‘banana’ but I was referring to the CV and professionalism required by English football for players who come from Africa or other countries. If anyone has interpreted my speech as offensive, I offer my apologies.”
Cécile Kyenge, a Congo-born European MP commented that it was sad that Tavecchio “seems as though he lost the sense of what he wanted to say, his ability to analyse what he was saying and the effect of what certain phrases can have on others.”
With racial abuse an ongoing problem in Italian stadiums, MP Davide Faraone suggested Tavecchio was not the right person to guide the FIGC and the President of the Italian Footballers’ Association (AIC) Damiano Tommasi said: “I am disconcerted by Tavecchio’s comments on bananas and Opti Pobà.”
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