Racism is a systemic problem that crosses societies worldwide. An international scourge that also affects football and that football as a global phenomenon tries to combat with its loudspeaker. The last to join has been Giorgio Chellini, captain of Juventus and international with Italy, who recounts one of the episodes that changed his way of seeing things in an article written for FIFPRO, the international players’ association.
The Italian assures that everything happened during a Cagliari-Juventus in which Blaise Matuidi received racist insults from the stands. “He started getting really anxious and we couldn’t calm him down. At that point it was hard for me to handle that because we were in the middle of the game. I was probably wrong, but the first thing I said to him was ‘Blaise, calm down. Let’s play and then we’ll think about it.” If it happened to me again, I would try to help him immediately. The best thing would have been to stop the game, talk to the referee and the other team and make a firm statement about how unacceptable that situation was. and that we would not continue in those conditions”, he narrates.
He assures that, by not taking measures and giving it that visibility, this situation went unnoticed and was not reflected by the media. “As it was so, there was no record of the racist insult,” he acknowledges.
For him, the problem is not new, but it continues and also knowing that solutions can be found. “We may not have talked about it much in the past, but there are forms of discrimination that can no longer be tolerated. Those that have to do with the color of the skin, racists, sexual orientation… This is already a matter of respect. It’s amazing that someone can be humiliated just because of who they are,” she says.
Now, as soon as he had the opportunity, he did not hesitate to try to support those who suffered racism, as is the case with Kalidou Koulibaly in the match between Naples and Fiorentina. “When it happened, I sent a message to Koulibaly, with whom I have a very good relationship. We are taking a stronger position because we need our voices to be heard and to have a strong position. We know that we can do more and that we should not wait for it to happen. the rest react. We must not endure until someone is offended to do something, “he admits, urging his colleagues and also the institutions to act. “If this happens again in a stadium, we have to be strong to position ourselves. We have great popularity and influence over young people. This gives us the responsibility to do more to help future generations and make the world a better place.” , he added.
For Chiellini, the price to pay with certain criticisms is worth the prize that can be obtained by positioning yourself on the right side and trying to use your loudspeaker to attack this problem.. “They can criticize you. It is part of the game, but my conscience tells me that it is time to use this responsibility. I have broad shoulders to carry a little weight. Also, a review on something like that is really weak. What we need to highlight is solidarity, the desire to listen and being shoulder to shoulder with others. It is the basis of everything to be really strong and help future generations to live better,” she said.
