Acerbi proves anti-racism slogans are meaningless

Francesco Acerbi was excluded from the Italy squad for using a racist slur, so after seeing coaches headbutting players and others making throat-slitting gestures, Susy Campanale asks how can we expect fans to act civilised when those on the pitch can’t?

The last couple of weeks really have been disconcerting for the behaviour seen from professionals on the field of play. Acerbi was just the icing on the cake, calling Juan Jesus a racist slur on the same weekend that every player and coach wore ‘Keep Racism Out’ stickers and the tacticians had to read out a prepared slogan after every interview.

Much as I hate the phrase because it is so often misappropriated, this was pure virtue signalling – declaring one thing and doing the exact opposite. Even the slogan was written in English, suggesting it was more for the benefit of the international viewing audience more than the fans in the stadium.

This is the ultimate problem with how Italian football is trying to tackle racism, violence and other ugly behaviour in the stands or on the pitch – it’s all about the PR angle more than genuinely fixing the issue. They talk about zero tolerance and then every attempt to ban supporters or kick them out of the stadium is appealed by the club, followed by the Mayor of the city insisting it is a very tolerant community and these are a few bad apples.

Here is my concern – in Italian football it has always been believed and said outright that anything goes if it puts your opponent off. Even Juan Jesus tried to play down the Acerbi row, assuring “it’s normal to say anything on the pitch and you leave it there.” It shouldn’t be normal. If the professionals think that’s acceptable, then of course the fans are going to say monkey noises are a valid tactic to upset the opposition. That is precisely the argument ultras use – all’s fair in love and sport.

We’re also seeing a resurgence of the ‘dark arts’ in sport, as the last few weeks saw Cagliari defender Yerry Mina tweaking the nipples of two different opponents, while Marcus Thuram squeezed a different part of Atletico Madrid defender Stefan Savic’s anatomy. I don’t care if they laughed it off, and in Savic’s case that’s because he knows that he’s done worse over the years, because people are watching and it sets a terrible example.

Even the coaches are getting in on the act now. Roberto D’Aversa was sacked by Lecce after storming up to Thomas Henry and headbutting the Verona striker. He then tried to defend himself in television interviews, insisting Henry had “provoked” him. You are meant to be the grown-up here, the one breaking up fights rather than starting them.

A week before that, Ivan Juric of Torino was sent off and made a ‘throat-slitting’ gesture towards Vincenzo Italiano. The Fiorentina coach went to hug him afterwards on live television, to reassure it was all behind them and just “in the heat of the moment.” But this is deeply unprofessional behaviour and the fact Juric got away with only a two-match touchline ban is a sign of how bad things are getting.

The only way to change minds is to lead by example and no ultras are going to be swayed by someone blandly reading out a slogan when they can see full well that it’s performative. If you are unable to control your worst impulses to make racist or physical threats to fellow professionals, then you have no place on that pitch or touchline.