Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 8y

Alessandro Del Piero: Italy are a 'long way behind' in fight to end racism

Alessandro Del Piero says racist attitudes in Italy must change if their football team are to become great again.

Speaking before France beat 2-0 Germany to reach the final of Euro 2016, the 41-year-old commented on a recent attack in the Italian town of Fermo -- which authorities believe was racially motivated -- and said attitudes must change fast.

"I'm talking above all because of what happened in Fermo and the disconcerting episode of racism," the former Juventus and Italy forward told Sky Sport Italia. "I played with French lads who had Algerian roots, like Zinedine Zidane, or a Basque background, like Didier Deschamps.

"There were lads from Guadaloupe, like Lilian Thuram, or Argentina, like David Trezeguet. It is sport which united each one of them and France got the very best from these different ethnic backgrounds between 1998 and 2000.

"France built a terribly good team and I want to underline how it is now time to end racism. There is no need discriminating this way and I hope that sport can help unite people even more. At times, we are a long way behind others in this aspect."

Although Thiago Motta was born in Brazil, none of the Italy side beaten by Germany in the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 came from another ethnic background.

By contrast, France's semifinal-winning side included Paul Pogba, the Juventus midfielder with Guinean parents, his Juve teammate Patrice Evra, who has a Senegalese background, and Moussa Sissoko, who has Mali roots, to name just three of Deschamps' multi-ethnic squad.

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