Credit: Twitter
The Italian government and their soccer federation announced on Tuesday that Italian football players will be banned from wearing No.88 on their jerseys to combat discrimination and antisemitism. The announcement came after a fan in March this year was spotted wearing a Lazio shirt with the name "Hitlerson" and the No. 88 on it, however, the fan was banned for life from attending matches of the Roman club.
During Lazio's 1-0 win over Roma on Sunday, March 19 in Serie A, a fan was pictured in the Stadio Olimpico wearing a Lazio shirt with the name "Hitlerson" and the No. 88, which is a numerical code for "Heil Hitler". On Wednesday, March 22, the Italian league banned the fan from attending Lazio's matches.
Recently, the Italian federation announced they will be exercising a ban on its players from wearing the No. 88 jersey as it is referred to Adolf Hitler. As per AP, the announcement includes the addition of a code of ethics in accordance with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
As per a report by AP, Italy's Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi said the moves are "an adequate and efficient response to intolerable prejudice that too often arises in our stadiums." While the Soccer Federation president, Gabriele Gravina stated, "Soccer’s credibility, which gets hurt and damaged by discriminatory behavior, has a direct reflection on Italian society."
Similar to the handling of racism cases during a match, the initiative by the Italian government and the football federation also mentioned the games to be suspended in case of antisemitic chants or acts.
