Milan’s CEO Ivan Gazidis insists Serie A is not a backward league and says racism in football is 'not just in Italy.'
"One of the issues is that people think that by talking about racism we're creating an issue. That's not true, the issue exists and the first step is to acknowledge it and have a grown up discussion about it,” Gazidis told ESPN.
Milan’s CEO Ivan Gazidis insists Serie A is not a backward league and says racism in football is 'not just in Italy.'
"One of the issues is that people think that by talking about racism we're creating an issue. That's not true, the issue exists and the first step is to acknowledge it and have a grown up discussion about it,” Gazidis told ESPN.
"There is an issue of racism in football in general, it's not just in Italy, but it's certainly in Italy and we need to acknowledge it and take ownership of it and work out how we're going to change it.
"This is a social issue, a social evil and we need to address it for that reason alone but it's also an issue about the development of Serie A and the future of the league.
"For all these reasons we have to acknowledge it and take the steps. There is a willingness to do that, this is not a backward country, this is not a backward league.
"Football in the 1980s in England was a hotbed of racism, for example, and while there are still issues in the English game, the new stadiums created a much more diverse, inclusive environment with women, children, people of all backgrounds feeling safe at the game. When they felt safe, the make up of the crowd changed and attitudes changed. Italian football suffers from antiquated stadiums and even the technology within the stadiums to identify wrongdoers [is antiquated]."