Double standards

I’ve waited a few days before giving my views on the Mazzola case and the minute’s silence in his honour that was ‘desecrated’ at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, before the match between Juventus and Atalanta. There are three reasons for this delay: firstly, because it is good practice never to speak whilst one’s head is still too hot; secondly, because waiting allows one to gather all the vitriol – whether paid for or not – spewed on the subject by unbalanced writers or commentators.

Last but not least, waiting in one’s own half whilst the usual hotheads vent their spleen provides the time needed to delve into the past, gather facts and offer an opinion which, whilst carrying exactly the same weight as those just mentioned, can at least avoid being based on sporting hatred or an inferiority complex, but rather on certain and incontrovertible facts.

And let’s start with a few of these. The minute’s silence, as we know it today, is a custom introduced to commemorate the fallen of the First World War. It can be described as a sort of secular prayer, a moment in which believers, atheists or agnostics can reflect in their own way on the people being commemorated, whether by praying or by recalling their values.

_{Image by Nino Souza Nino from Pixabay}

Observing a minute’s silence is a matter of civility and good manners. Anyone who fails to do so is guilty of a reprehensible act, as they breach society’s conventions regarding mutual respect and civilised behaviour. Just like someone who smokes indoors, perhaps in the presence of children; someone who takes drugs or staggers drunk in the street; or someone who swears loudly in public.

Here, however, an interesting initial point arises: how many of the fierce critics we have heard in recent hours can claim to have a completely clear conscience on every single one of the issues mentioned? We must also consider the fact that some people – particularly amongst those who advocate freedom at all costs and in every aspect of life – should, if they were consistent with their own beliefs, object that the FIGC has no authority to impose silence or speech on spectators.

Or at the very least explain why, according to their philosophy, if we have the right to marry whomever we please, to shout out the blasphemous remarks that spring to mind, or even to end our own lives whenever it suits us, we should not feel free to turn away during a minute’s silence for a figure whom we may not hold in high regard?

_{Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay}

There have already been a few minor incidents, but let’s take a closer look at the facts: it was only around two or three hundred supporters – out of a total of forty-one thousand present at the stadium – who failed to observe the tribute to Mazzola. The ‘rebels’ turned round and chanted in support of Andrea Fortunato, Gianni Agnelli and Gaetano Scirea – distinguished figures from the world of Juventus who have passed away (bear these names in mind, as we’ll come back to them shortly) – but their chants were drowned out by the applause from the rest of the stadium.

Three hundred out of forty-one thousand – 0.73 per cent of the home crowd. If we wish, we can call them ‘bad apples’ or the ‘unhealthy’ element of the fanbase, but to tar everyone with the same brush, judging the entire Juventus fanbase on the basis of this single incident, is the behaviour of frustrated, ignorant or disingenuous people. And it is not uncommon for all three to go hand in hand.

The vitriol in the print media and the outpouring from social media ‘fans’ regarding what happened has once again been staggering. Those who had carefully avoided taking a stand on murders or organised crime in the stands, match-fixing, diving or the financial shenanigans used to get certain teams entered into the league, suddenly found themselves guided by sacred and inviolable principles and were keen to profess their outrage.

_{Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay}

There were loud calls for the supporters’ stand to be banned, for the stadium to be closed and even for the match to be forfeited. And so, after days of media pressure, the sports disciplinary committee’s verdict – a ten-thousand-euro fine for the club – seemed like a slap on the wrist. It’s a pity that this is the highest penalty ever imposed in Italian football for incidents of this kind, and one that was, moreover, mitigated by Juventus’s own distancing of itself from the incident and by the behaviour of the rest of the crowd.

Indeed, when it was other sets of supporters who broke the minute’s silence with whistles and insults (rather than by turning their backs or chanting in support of others), no wave of outrage arose in the newspapers or on social media. And the fines? A maximum of five thousand euros, even without the club distancing itself or the rest of the crowd attempting to make amends for the despicable act.

In short, it really does seem that when it comes to Juve, the matter is always treated as more serious and the penalty must always be exemplary. This is due to popular demand, or perhaps out of sheer hatred or frustration. I left you a short while ago with some names still hanging in the air: Gianni Agnelli, Andrea Fortunato and Gaetano Scirea – three figures from Juventus’s past whose memory was desecrated by supporters of Inter, Torino FC and Fiorentina during their respective minutes’ silence.

Perhaps that is why those two hundred rebels turned round and began chanting their names. They were wrong, mind you, but the message seemed clear: was Totò right to describe death as ‘a leveller’, or are some of the deceased and some commemorations worth more than others?

One thing seems certain: as the images below show, there don’t seem to be any sets of supporters who can lecture others on morality. At least not without resorting to double standards – perhaps the only consistent guiding principle of many inconsistent people:

What I do is always justified, whilst what you do is always wrong.

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