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Exactly, fantastic appointment, well done Sunderland for not going down the route of appointing one of the usual suspects and instead going for a complete lunatic. It will be great entertainment for everyone and you never know he might actually be a good manager looking at his record so far. Just steer clear of the subject of politics....

 

Yeah, good luck with that!

 

BBC News - Di Canio: David Miliband quits Sunderland role

 

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Ex-foreign secretary David Miliband has resigned from the board of Sunderland football club over new head coach Paolo Di Canio's "past political statements".

 

Mr Di Canio has previously described himself as "a fascist, not a racist".

 

Mr Miliband had been serving as the club's vice-chairman and as a non-executive director.

 

He said he wished the club "all success in the future. It is a great institution that does a huge amount for the North East".

 

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said Mr Miliband's decision to stand down was entirely to do with Mr Di Canio's appointment and nothing to do with his forthcoming move to New York to work for a charity.

 

Mr Di Canio - who has praised former fascist dictator Mussolini as "a very principled ethical individual" who was "deeply misunderstood" - was pictured in 2005 making a raised-arm salute to a group of supporters of Italian club Lazio, where he was playing.

 

He was given a one-match ban and fined £7,000 for the incident, and was also banned for a match following a similar incident earlier in 2005.

 

In 2011, when Mr Di Canio was appointed as Swindon Town's manager, the GMB union withdrew its sponsorship of the club, citing his political views.

 

Mr Miliband joined the Sunderland board in February 2011 after retiring from frontline politics in the aftermath of losing the Labour leadership race to his brother Ed.

 

He said last week he was quitting as Labour MP for South Shields to take up a role with the International Rescue Committee in New York.

 

Former Swindon Town chairman Jeremy Wray, who gave Mr Di Canio his first managerial job, described Mr Miliband's resignation as a "kneejerk response".

 

"I doubt if David Miliband has ever met Paolo Di Canio. I have known him for two years and I don't think politics was discussed once," he said.

 

"Paolo had many strong views. He probably had views on whether Italy should be in the euro, gay marriage and the endangered Siberian tiger but I doubt it's relevant to keeping Sunderland in the Premiership."

 

Campaign group Unite Against Fascism said it was "not surprised" by Mr Miliband's decision and called on Mr Di Canio to retract comments on his political views.

 

"If he wants to be a manager and wants to be a public figure, he needs to make it clear he accepts these views are completely inappropriate," joint national secretary Weyman Bennett said.

 

It was "simply not true that you can say you agree with fascism and that's okay - it's something that isn't acceptable", he added.

 

'Extreme views'

Sunderland City Council deputy leader Henry Trueman, meanwhile, said "extremism is the last thing we need in football" and said he hoped Mr Di Canio "comes as a football manager and keeps his politics to himself".

 

Sports journalist Gabriele Marcotti has written a biography of Mr Di Canio and suggested the club appointment would always upset some people.

 

He told BBC 5 Live: "I've known him very well for the last 15 years. There's no question that he's not a racist.

 

"His record, his friendships, his relationships pretty much speak for themselves.

 

"As to why Miliband resigned, he's a politician and I can understand why he's concerned about being associated with certain people - especially the way some people are bound to depict Paolo."

 

Martyn McFadden, editor of Sunderland football fanzine A Love Supreme, told the BBC there had been "a massive reaction" on the publication's website.

 

"A lot of fans are upset about the connection with these extreme political views," he said.

 

"Others are saying, 'let's keep politics out of football and make sure that Sunderland stay in the division'."

 

Mr Di Canio first came to Britain as a player in 1996 when he joined Celtic, and followed his time in Glasgow with spells at Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton.

 

He retired in 2008 after spells in Italy with Lazio and former Serie C1 side Cisco Roma, and was handed his first managerial role by Swindon in May 2011 before quitting in February after becoming frustrated by off-the-field issues.

 

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I've got to say, I don't understand the -shall we say - "nuances" of Italian politics enough to understand how a person can say "I'm a Fascist, not a racist." And I'm not sure I care enough about di Canio or Sunderland to give a fuck. I'm just happy that this shitstorm is swirling around some other club. (Also, I've only ever known one Sunderland fan and he is a prick. Result!)

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If football discounted managers on the basis that they were objectionable, we would have few managers.

 

Yes, you'd be surprised how many of them secretly advocate totalitarian states based on the idea of racial supremacy. At least Di Canio is honest about it.

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He's allowed to change his mind. Mussolini did during the war, for heavens sake.

 

I can hear the chants from the away fans at the Stadium of Light now:

He's not fascist anymore! He's not fascist anymore! Or something more creative.

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I could ask you to be more specific, but I don't actually give a fuck.

 

I know, that is apparent by some of the assumptions and errors in your posts.

 

This will help you out, I am sure that you will want to read it in the original text rather than rely upon a translation:

Quel fascino per la camicia nera che cresce nel mondo del calcio - Calcio - Sport - Repubblica.it

 

Those less sphisticated than yourself will not draw a distinction between the quirky antecedents of Italian Fascism, and its Nazi counterpart.

 

The preparedness of some to swallow media hype whole never ceases to amaze, does it?

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I know, that is apparent by some of the assumptions and errors in your posts.

 

This will help you out, I am sure that you will want to read it in the original text rather than rely upon a translation:

Quel fascino per la camicia nera che cresce nel mondo del calcio - Calcio - Sport - Repubblica.it

 

Those less sphisticated than yourself will not draw a distinction between the quirky antecedents of Italian Fascism, and its Nazi counterpart.

 

The preparedness of some to swallow media hype whole never ceases to amaze, does it?

 

There are very few who would consider the events that preceded Italian Fascism and Nazism as 'quirky'.

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The tat shops around Mt Etna were selling lava busts of il duce when I was there last summer. Suggests to me that Paulo isn't alone in his views.

 

It's not like Milliband to take a principled stand, especially when there's a pay cheque involved. He's earned a packet since he left front-line politics. I didn't realise being a socialist was so lucrative.

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People say Miliband is bringing politics into this but in reality his reasons are much more likely to be personal, given both of his parents had to flee their countries to avoid being marched off to concentration camps - his mum in particular having a hard time of it. I would have done the same.

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No one cares what "people" might say. Who are those people anyway...?

 

Miliband is of Jewish descent, he has every right to be against Di Canio's appointment and react the way he feels appropriate.

 

After all it was Di Canio who brought politics in the game with his silly salutes.

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There are a small bunch of managers that just seem to be on some crazy loop. Hughes, Bruce, McCoist, Redknapp, O'Neil, Allardyce and I am sure others. Sacked more often than not and then employed again by a different club. The crazy part is they pick up huge pay offs each time.

 

I'll give you Hughes and Bruce (although currently doing a good job at the incest capital of East Yorkshire) but McCoist? He's currently in his first, and therefore only, managerial position. Redknapp has had loads of clubs, but I think most would agree he's done a good job at the majority of them (financial 'curse' aside), and has only been sacked twice in 29 years. O'Neill was sacked for the first time in his career just the other day, and Allardyce was sacked by Newcastle (who hasn't been) and Blackburn when they were 13th in the PL- look where they are now.

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I'll give you Hughes and Bruce (although currently doing a good job at the incest capital of East Yorkshire) but McCoist? He's currently in his first, and therefore only, managerial position. Redknapp has had loads of clubs, but I think most would agree he's done a good job at the majority of them (financial 'curse' aside), and has only been sacked twice in 29 years. O'Neill was sacked for the first time in his career just the other day, and Allardyce was sacked by Newcastle (who hasn't been) and Blackburn when they were 13th in the PL- look where they are now.

 

He probably meant Mcleish instead of McCoist.

 

True on Allardyce, he may be a wanker and have his teams play a grim direct game but hes done well with nearly every club hes been at as you point out and is a solid appointment for a team wanting to stay in the PL, what the Venky's were/are upto god only knows.

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