The three works were created by Simone Fugazzotto and will be on permanent
display at the league’s headquarters in Milan. The league said the images are
intended to “spread the values of integration, multiculturalism and brotherhood”.
Italian football has been blighted by monkey chants and other incidents of racist
abuse this season, with Brescia’s Mario Balotelli and Internazionale’s Romelu
Lukaku among players targeted.
Announcing the new project, the Serie A chief executive, Luigi de Siervo,
said: “Football is an extraordinary tool for conveying positive messages, fair
play and tolerance. Simone’s paintings fully reflect these values and will
remain on show in our headquarters.”
Fugazzotto said the work was intended to show “we are complex and
fascinating creatures that we can be sad or happy, Catholics, Muslims or
Buddhists, but that, after all, our actions determine who we are, not the
colour of the skin.
“I only paint monkeys as a metaphor for human beings. We turn the concept
back on the racists, as we are all monkeys originally. So I painted a western
monkey, an Asian monkey and a black monkey.”
The artist added he was inspired after the Napoli centre-back Kalidou
Koulibaly was subjected to racist abuse at Inter last season.
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“Fantastic to see Serie A anti-racism campaign posters (yes, it’s really real),”
tweeted the former England forward Stan Collymore. “Maybe get the mascots
to black up as a finishing touch.”
https://www.theguardian.com/football...rtwork-monkeys
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