April 02, 2013
| Andy West is a sports writer originally from the UK and now living in Barcelona. He has worked in professional football since 1998 and specialises in the Spanish Primera Division and the English Premier League. Follow him on Twitter at @andywest01. |
APRIL 2 — Sunderland's decision to sack their manager Martin O'Neill and replace him with the charismatic former Italy international Paolo Di Canio has caused quite a fuss.
Firstly, there's the question of whether O'Neill deserved to be sacked or if Sunderland's American owner Ellis Short has simply given an unnecessary knee-jerk reaction to a poor run of form.
Secondly, it's debateable whether Di Canio has done enough to earn the opportunity of managing a Premier League club, having spent only 18 months in management with third-tier Swindon Town.
Thirdly, and most intriguingly, there's the unusual problem of Di Canio's politics.
The Italian, you see, is a self-declared fascist. In the past he has thrown a Nazi-style salute to the right-wing ultras of his then-club Lazio and spoken of his deep admiration for wartime Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, describing him as "misunderstood."
His appointment has even resulted in the resignation of high-profile Sunderland board member David Miliband, the former British foreign secretary and brother of the current Labour leader Ed, who announced that he was quitting his position "in the light of the new manager's past political statements."
While it's inevitable that Di Canio's strongly stated political views are newsworthy, I don't think they should be regarded as an impediment to his suitability for the job.
He is a football manager. His job is to win football matches; in the short term, his specific job is to keep Sunderland in the Premier League. Nothing more. And that is all we should be concerned with.
Of course, there are limits. If Di Canio was a law-breaking mass murderer who acted upon his more extreme views to perpetrate hate crimes, then he would clearly be unsuitable; but then again, he wouldn't have been available for the job because he'd be in prison.
In his enlightening and enormously influential 1859 book On Liberty, English political-philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote of the importance of tolerance in a free society:
"There is a limit to the legitimate interference of collective opinion with individual independence; and to find that limit, and maintain it against encroachment, is as indispensable to a good condition of human affairs as protection against political despotism...
"The object of this Essay is to assert one very simple principle... that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self-protection."
The values espoused by Mill should form the cornerstone of any free and open society. If we really pride ourselves "on liberty", we should possess a civilised ability to tolerate the views of other people, even if — especially if — we don't agree with them.
Miliband's reaction is childish. He is effectively saying: "I can only work with people with whom I agree." That is an entirely unrealistic viewpoint. Any successful and happy organisation or society has to be able to incorporate people who can work together in harmony and understanding even when they disagree on fundamental issues. Miliband's resignation suggests he cannot do that, which hints at a great weakness in his character.
Some would argue that as a Premier League manager, Di Canio is in an elevated position of responsibility, trust and public confidence, and that he is a role model to children.
True — to an extent. His behaviour in sport-related matters is indeed important and we should judge managers like Di Canio for their ability to adhere to values such as sportsmanship and mutual respect among competitors. But we can hardly claim to uphold those standards — otherwise Neil Warnock and Jose Mourinho would have been permanently out of work a long time ago.
Outside the sporting arena, Di Canio should be perfectly free to hold whatever political beliefs he wants and, in fact, they are irrelevant anyway. We shouldn't take any notice of them or give them more credibility than they deserve by reacting to them at all.
He is a football manager, not a political leader, and if he believes that fascism is the best way to organise a society, that's up to him: beyond his ordinary vote as a citizen, he's not the one deciding. And if you allow yourself to be influenced by his views, more fool you. Why should you even listen to him? You'd be much better off paying heed to a specialist in the field.
In our fame-driven modern culture, we are often guilty of bestowing far too much importance upon the uninformed views of sportsman and other celebrities, which is entirely wrong.
Just because Lionel Messi is the most gifted footballer of all time, that doesn't mean we should seek his views on the ethical problems of genetic engineering. Usain Bolt, likewise, is not the man to solve the Israel-Palestine question. The fact that they are extraordinarily talented in one field of human endeavour doesn't mean they are qualified to comment with authority upon anything else.
In fact, it's more often the reverse. The single-minded commitment and dedication required to become a top-level athlete (or artist, or musician, etc) demands a selfishness and narrowness of focus that generally precludes an ability to excel in other areas.
So let's just leave Di Canio alone and judge him solely on his abilities as a football manager. You don't have to agree with his political views but neither should you condemn him for them, as long as he's acting lawfully.
Of course, it would be a different matter if his opinions impacted upon his ability to carry out his duties — if, for example, he refused to pick black players. But until that happens, he should be regarded as a football manager, not a political activist, and allowed to do his job.
If you don't, you stand accused of impeding Di Canio's right to freedom of expression... and isn't that exactly the kind of fascism you're supposedly opposing in the first place?
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
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