Vlahovic’s goal in injury time angered the Bologna fans. Among them Patrick Zaki who, immediately after the final whistle with Juventus on Saturday, wrote a tweet in which he commented on the match. Since then, there has been a continuous stream of comments on his bulletin board, especially from Juventus fans, who contest his words, in some cases even with insults and threats, bringing into question his legal case in Egypt, where he risks a conviction for crimes of ‘opinion. “If I can’t say my opinion on football without being attacked – he says – I’m not sure how I should recover my voice in more important matters.”
The affair was denounced by Amnesty International. The spokesperson Riccardo Noury starts from one of the sentences against the student, “You’re talking too much”. “It is one of the comments, including insults and other threats, published in the last few hours against a person who, for 22 months, lost his speech in an Egyptian prison and is still on trial: Patrick Zaki. All for a tweet from fan. You are in bad shape. “
Juventus-Bologna: this is what happened in the 81st minute between Medel and the referee
by Simone Monari
Patrick Zaki himself returned to the story with a long post accompanied by a photo of him with the Bologna shirt. “I was faced with dozens of insults and attacks – says the Egyptian student – up to hatred. I don’t mind having heated discussions with fans from different teams on a regular basis, I love football and appreciate this kind of fun. However, when I found out that people were hoping for me to go back to prison and be silenced, it really struck me how hate speech can be triggered so easily. I honestly don’t understand how this escalation was so rapid and why after two years of silence, I am attacked by the same people who once supported me, just because I gave my opinion on the match. “