Advertisement

Turin mayor gives the finger to Toro fans

The Local Italy
The Local Italy - [email protected]
Turin mayor gives the finger to Toro fans
Turin Mayor Piero Fassino lost his cool with Torino fans. Photo: Carlo Nidassio/Flickr

The mayor of Turin sparked controversy on Monday evening after waving the middle finger at a group of Torino football fans in response to “being insulted” during a ceremony to commemorate the 1949 Supergra plane crash, in which almost all the entire Torino team was killed.

Advertisement

Piero Fassino, an ardent supporter of Juventus and former foreign minister, initially denied making the rude gesture but was forced to make an admission after it was caught on video and posted online, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.

Watch the video here:

Fassino said the gesture was directed at a group of “hooligans”, and not true Torino fans, in response to “intolerable intimidating behaviour.”

“A small group of hooligans decided to attack me and insult me and my family, even by throwing stones,” he was quoted in Il Fatto as saying.

“This is what provoked the instinctive, but human, reaction, which I regret. But intimidating behaviour is intolerable.”

The incident happened during a ceremony at Turin’s Filadelfia stadium to commemorate the Supergra disaster in which 31 people died after a plane crashed into Superga Hill on May 4th 1949.

Eighteen Torino players, club officials, journalists and the plane’s crew were lost after the plane crashed in a thunderstorm as it approached Turin.

Fassino’s reaction comes at a time of high tension in Italian football. On Saturday, three Napoli fans were shot ahead of the Italian Cup final in Rome after allegedly brawling with a fan from the hardline ‘Ultras’, an organized group which is responsible for much of the violence that blights football in Italy.

READ MORE HERE: Napoli fan arrested after life-saving operation

Don't miss a story about Italy - Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also