ROME. The heaviest accusation, that of racism, falls on the Italian Under 21 team after Tuesday’s match against Sweden in Monza for qualifying for the next European championships in the category. There…
ROME. The heaviest accusation, that of racism, falls on the Italian Under 21 team after Tuesday’s match against Sweden in Monza for qualifying for the next European championships in the category. The Swedish football association, through an official note, speaks of a racist insult that an Italy player allegedly uttered against Anthony Elanga. Immediate reply from the FIGC which “completely denies that an Under 21 player has expressed racist offenses against an opponent”.
On its official website, the Swedish Football Association has published a note in which it denounces that “on the occasion of the qualifying match for the European Under-21 Championship against Italy, Anthony Elanga declared after the game that he had been the subject of a racist comment from part of an opponent of the Italian Under 21 national team. We told our version of what happened and we presented an oral report to both the referees and the match delegates – said the Under 21 manager Claes Eriksson – We are now awaiting feedback through the match report and the referee’s report. Nobody should be exposed to racism, it is completely unacceptable. We all support and support Anthony in this, ”concluded Eriksson.
Immediate and dry reply from the FIGC which rejects the accusations to the sender and recalls “the constant commitment made by all Italian football and the national teams, for the fight against racism and condemns any discriminatory insult or episode of violence”. “The FIGC absolutely denies that a player of the Under 21 national team, during the Italy – Sweden match, expressed racist offenses against an opponent, an episode which, as far as we know, was not found by the match officials or the UEFA delegate ”, reads the note from the FIGC. “Hoping that the competent bodies will promptly clarify the case. The FIGC will protect its image and that of its players in all offices ».