This statement* from Sunderland AFC is clearly intended for general consumption so Salut! Sunderland is happy to reproduce it. No further comment save to note that the media “and other individuals” can hardly be blamed if Paolo Di Canio has called himself a fascist in the past. Blaming the media for everything is easy, unthinking and in this case wrong …
M Salut writes: Anyone who reads Salut! Sunderland regularly should know that nothing here is cut and dried. There is little by way of cast-in-strong editorial policy beyond passionate support for Sunderland AFC. Often enough, contributors quarrel with one another’s views. That’s as it should be. In the torrent of mainly non-SAFC abuse and bile I received at ESPN for offering my (fairly even-handed) response to the Paolo Di Canio appointment, there was little hint of a coherent counter-argument (honourable exceptions include the reply by Phil Johnson, disagree as we do). Here, John McCormick explores some of the nuances I referred to while admitting that his own head is spinning …
Monsieur Salut was watching/nodding off to a French crime reconstruction programme, Faites entrer l’accusé (see headline for translation) when news reached him that Paolo Di Canio had been appointed head coach of Sunderland. Di Canio may feel like the accused when he takes his place in the dock at the Stadium of Light for the press conference. He must speak for himself.
David Miliband’s decision to stand down in protest as vice-chairman may be taken as a part principle, part expediency. He’s off the the US anyway. But there are plenty of others among Sunderland supporters who find this a disturbing move on Ellis Short’s part. M Salut has been roundly condemned by a noble jury of readers over at ESPN for voicing his own reservations (see http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/sunderland/id/1322?cc=5739. There is something so – oh what is it? – fascistic, about implying that an individual has no right to express strongly held views whether that individual happens to be Di Canio or M Salut. Pete Sixsmith feels more strongly still and has the stirrings of rebellion in his heart…
Fascism is on the rise again in Europe as far-right parties take electoral advantage of widespread disillusion with mainstream politicans. Witness the skip-a-generation election of wicked old Jean-Marie Le Pen’s granddaughter, Marion Maréchal-Le Pen (just a rank, I know, but what an evocatively Pétainist name!) while his daughter demands a recount after failing to win a seat by just 118 votes. Where does football come into any of this? Salut! Sunderland’s John McCormick has a scholarly reply, with inevitable reference to Paolo Di Canio, who has just led Swindon Town to League One …
Image: Oscar Federico Bodini