A super-featherweight championship boxing match caused a storm in Italy and has reignited debate in the country after it was revealed that one of the fighters had several tattoos of Nazi and fascist symbols on his body.
Michele Broili, 28, lost on Sunday night against Hassan Nourdine, 34, in their bout in the northeastern port city of Trieste.
In the aftermath, sports authorities are now examining how a pugilist with tattoos which include a flag with an SS inscription was allowed to become a member of the Italian Boxing Federation.
“When I got into the ring and saw those tattoos, I was shocked,” revealed the Moroccan-born Nourdine, who was lauded in the local media and dubbed a hero, to La Stampa.
Lui è il pugile Michele Broili. Come notate ha il corpo disseminato di tatuaggi neonazisti. Ha combattuto per il titolo italiano. Ha perso, battutoda Nourdine, pugile italo-marocchino. Una di quelle situazioni nelle quali ringrazi il karma e le frontiere (mai abbastanza) aperte. pic.twitter.com/fDwZ9DmTZk
The country’s largest sports newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport, streamed the fight on its website.
Upon seeing Broili covered in tattoos such as the number 88 white supremacist code for ‘Heil Hitler’, the logo of a skinhead group in Veneto, and the totenkopf symbol of the paramilitary unit which ran concentration camps in Nazi Germany, thousands of viewers were angered and offended.
As if that weren’t enough, Broili also let off a fascist salute to his corner before the first bell.
“I found those tattoos obscene. There is no justification,” stated Nourdine, who resides in Asti around 35 miles from Turin.
“The Italian Boxing Federation should have realized from the beginning that this boxer had those sympathies. Inciting hatred is punishable by law.”
The governing body has released a statement stressing that all its members should refrain from exhibiting discriminatory behavior, and vowed to pass the case on to the sports justice body.
But it didn’t explain why action had not been taken sooner against Broili, who had fought 16 fights before stepping into the ring at the weekend.
While he is in danger of being barred from the federation, police are also reportedly looking into the matter as Trieste prosecutors evaluate whether or not to launch a criminal investigation.
Italian law prohibits the revival of fascism, and being found guilty of doing so can land offenders behind bars for up to two years.
That being said, the law has rarely been enforced and the prosecution would need to prove that Broili somehow made the gesture in an attempt to get such a revival off the ground.
Separately, in 2017, Italy’s ex-center-left administration attempted to pass a law to ban all fascist and Nazi symbols, as well as the distribution of fascist paraphernalia, yet failed to see it approved by the chambers of parliament.
Thus far, Broili has declined to comment, though his coach Denis Conte told Ansa: “Michele only talks about sport and only wants to do sport.
“Michele is the prototype of the athlete who wakes up at four in the morning to train.”
Some witnesses allege that Broili’s fans in attendance at the show exchanged Nazi salutes and sang Nazi songs.
“For me, all this is not normal. But I cannot deny that beating someone with those tattoos is a victory worth double,” said Nourdine.
Premier League stars are refusing to participate in a publicity campaign encouraging fellow players to get their Covid vaccine, according to a report.
The Daily Mail claims to have discovered that vaccination rates among Premier League players have stalled in recent weeks, with numerous clubs holding talks about releasing videos featuring their biggest names stating the importance of being jabbed.
Yet the project has apparently failed to take off due to “a lack of volunteers.”
Back in July, England manager Gareth Southgate released a video for the NHS which urged young people to get their vaccines, and claimed that he received more abuse for it than England’s Euro 2020 penalty shootout loss to Italy in the final at Wembley.
“Of all the things I received abuse for over the summer – of which there’s been several – that’s probably the one I’ve received the most abuse over,” Southgate had said.
“I’m probably going to keep out of that argument for the time being.
“When you want to try to make a difference and take the right sort of stance on taking the knee and other things, then you know you are not going to please everybody and there are extreme views on lots of those subjects as well.
“I’m comfortable with that but I’m not going to town on things like the vaccine. I’m not the one who has to open some of that mail and some of those emails, because my poor secretary has dealt with quite a lot of that, so that is the reality,” he finished.
England Football coach, Gareth Southgate promotes the coronavirus vaccination programme and tells young people their freedom rests on them taking the jab. pic.twitter.com/OUyTvMWopC
In his clip, Southgate said: “If you haven’t had your vaccine yet go and get it done, and you guys will get your freedom back.”
But thus far there has been no similar message from the English top flight’s stars with the backlash the Three Lions’ tactician received a possible motive for reluctance.
In comparison to elite competitions in the US such as the NFL, NBA and NHL, the Premier League refuses to disclose how many of its players have been vaccinated.
In the lower tier EFL leagues, however, the figure is put at around 70% across staff and players.
Get your two doses of the vaccine ✅ Stay home and get a test if you're showing any symptoms Take a face mask with you Arrive early Wash your hands regularly
Jonathan Van-Tam on how football fans can do their bit to stay safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/ejXCIuzBNs
Both the Premier League and the EFL have arranged for briefings to be held for managers and captains with England’s deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, where he attempted to debunk numerous vaccine myths.
Despite these efforts, they are still struggling to find players that are prepared to front a publicity campaign.
This week, the EFL plans to step up vaccination promotion by sending information to players in a Q&A format as they currently work with lower league clubs with small medical teams to establish pop-up vaccination centers around training grounds and stadiums.
A Russian amateur footballer in Austria has been slapped with a 48-match ban for deliberately headbutting a rival after taking exception to being shown a second yellow card by the referee, according to reports.
The shocking scenes are said to have taken place in the Austrian ninth-tier match between FC Viktoria 62 Bregenz and Gofis Satteins 1b earlier in September, according to Kronen Zeitung.
After being shown a second yellow card in the 87th minute of his team’s 3-1 defeat for an implied headbutt against an opponent, enraged Viktoria player Rahid Arsanukaev is said to have responded to the referee, “I’ll show you what’s punishable”, before landing his head on his rival’s nose and breaking it.
Russian amateur footballer Raschid Arsanukaev has been handed a 48-game ban for headbutting an opponent and breaking his nose during the Austrian ninth-tier game between FC Viktoria 62 Bregenz and Gofis Satteins 1b.
The violent incident has reportedly been brought to the attention of the police, while Arsanukaev has been released by his club, even though his image remains on their website.
“Viktoria stands for integration, but of course we cannot tolerate such incidents,” club official Christian Gojo was quoted as saying.
Voralberg Football Association managing director Horst Elsner said they had informed other leagues to ensure they were aware of the hefty ban, so that Arsanukaev could not find a way to play until he had served his time.
“We have informed the surrounding associations about the suspension of Arsanukaev and want to prevent that he as a newly registered player can bypass the suspension and kick again somewhere,” Elsner said.
Conor McGregor should probably stick to throwing punches rather than baseballs, at least judging by the Irishman’s woeful effort on Tuesday night at the Chicago Cubs.
Stepping up to the do the honors for the ceremonial first pitch before the Cubs hosted the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field, McGregor sent his throw wildly wide of catcher Patrick Wisdom.
The former two-weight UFC champ put on a brave face but was already being ridiculed online for his “embarrassing” effort, which almost took out fans seated in the front row.
Numerous observers dragged up the iconic ‘juuuust a bit outside’ line from fictional broadcaster Harry Doyle in classic baseball comedy ‘Major League’.
Others compared and contrasted McGregor’s lame effort with that of rapper 50 Cent at a New York Mets game in 2014.
To be fair, McGregor has past form at flopping in sports outside the cage, having been widely trolled for his attempts at tossing a football before a Dallas Cowboys game in 2018.
The Irishman was typically defiant after his pitch on Tuesday night, boasting: “The most devastating first pitch ever seen! The venom is there, the power is there.”
Some attempted to defend McGregor by claiming he had been hindered by his tailor-made suit.
“Maybe if his suit wasn’t skin tight…,” joked one fan.
“That’s the first time that dude’s ever thrown a baseball in his life,” scoffed another, while one person tweeted: “He throws like he fights. Terrible.”
McGregor’s UFC rival Justin Gaethje also stuck the boot in.
“I cannot stop laughing at this,” tweeted the lightweight star.
“Every MMA fighter that has represented us doing this has looked terrible but this takes the cake.”
I cannot stop laughing at this. Every MMA fighter that has represented us doing this has looked terrible but this takes the cake. https://t.co/n6Ck9AQ7wG
McGregor, 33, is currently recovering from the horrific leg-break he suffered in his defeat to Dustin Poirier in July.
That was the second loss in a row for the Notorious against his American rival, leaving McGregor with just one victory in his last four trips to the Octagon.
He has vowed to return next year to meet Poirier in a fourth bout, with the American 2-1 up in their trilogy thus far.
The Cubs, meanwhile, went down to a 9-5 defeat to the Twins as they endured a fifth defeat in their last six games.
Suriname’s 60-year-old vice president featured for the team he owns in a CONCACAF league fixture on Tuesday night, naming himself as captain and starring alongside one of his reported 50 kids at the stadium named in his honor.
Ronnie Brunswijk owns Inter Moengotapoe and took matters into his own hands for their last-16 clash against Olimpia.
Starring up front with his son Damian for most of the match, his overbearing influence still amounted to nothing despite completing 14 out of 17 passes in his 54 minutes on the pitch.
Online, video clips have emerged of Brunswijk not being the most mobile of players while barking instructions at his colleagues and shouting at one for not laying off a pass to him.
The 60 year old Vice President of Suriname is playing in CONCACAF because he owns the team pic.twitter.com/icimSs8yls
Come full time, Inter Moengotapoe had been thrashed 6-0 and have a mountain to climb in the second leg in Honduras next week if they wish to advance in the regional equivalent of the Europa League.
With his lengthy cameo, Brunswijk became the oldest ever player to make an appearance in an international club competition.
After the match, unverified footage appeared on social media purportedly showing Brunswijk dishing out money in the opposition changing room, in the latest chapter in the colorful story of his life.
Seguro todos leyeron la historia Ronnie Brunswijk, presidente del Inter Moengotapoe y Vicepresidente de Surinam que ayer jugó un partido de Concacaf a los 60 años. Después del partido fue al vestuario de Olimpia a repartir dinero. Concacaf va a tener que intervenir pic.twitter.com/ytZ55tH3Ki
In the late 80s and early 90s, he was a rebel leader of the Jungle Commando in Suriname’s Interior War only ended by a peace treaty being signed in 1992 after hundreds of deaths.
In 1999, the Netherlands prosecuted him in absentia for drug trafficking with an Interpol warrant for his arrest still active when he became the vice-president of his former Dutch colony in July last year.
Brunswijk has been described as a popular Robin Hood-type figure in Suriname with an alleged 50 kids, who has distributed money gained through his crimes including bank robbing to the poor, and has sometimes thrown cash from his helicopter – which perhaps helps to explain the glee the Olimpia players seem to exhibit in the purported clips of him dishing out notes.
Suriname Vice President Ronnie Brunswijk (60) played 54 minutes for Inter Moengatapoe in a CONCACAF Champions League match against Honduran side Olimpia today.
In 2002, he constructed the 3,000-capacity Ronnie Brunswijkstadion stadium, but his influence in football has long attracted controversy.
Three years later, he received a suspension for allegedly threatening some players with a handgun in the middle of a match, though the ban was later withdrawn due to a lack of evidence.
Lastly in 2012, though, he was finally reprimanded and suspended for a year when verbally abusing a referee.
It remains to be seen whether Brunswijk runs out for Inter Moengotapoe in the second leg and spearheads their comeback in Honduras, with reports that he cannot leave the country without the risk of facing legal trouble.
