David Miliband, who resigned as a Labour MP this week, has stepped down from his role as vice-chairman of Sunderland after the football club appointed Paolo Di Canio as its new manager.
In a statement on his website, Miliband wrote:
“I wish Sunderland AFC all success in the future. It is a great institution that does a huge amount for the North East and I wish the team very well over the next vital seven games. However, in the light of the new manager’s past political statements, I think it right to step down.”
Di Canio is notorious for his “Roman salute” in 2005 to fans of his club, Lazio. The football writer Simon Kuper, nominating Di Canio for his “political football first XI”, wrote in 2008:
Political symbols do mean something to Di Canio. When he said, “I am a professional footballer and my celebrations had nothing to do with political behaviour of any kind,” it was a ludicrous statement. He is a very political man, if a weird and stupid one, who has thought a lot about fascism.
[His ghostwriter Gabriele] Marcotti says: “I think what appeals to Paolo about fascism is the authoritarian nature. He likes the idea of the strong man.”Hence Di Canio’s self-confessed “fascination” with Benito Mussolini.A tattoo on his right biceps reads “Dux” – Latin for “leader” – in honour of the late fat clown. Of course, Di Canio combines his authoritarianism with an anti-authoritarianism that attracts him to the offensive gesture.
Di Canio was fined for his salute in 2005, and told the Italian news agency ANSA at the time, “I am a fascist, not a racist.”
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