By Jacob Braun
Ultras of Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Andrea Buratti, via WikiMedia Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
It should go without saying that football is really, really big in Italy. When I lived in Florence for a couple months, I even bought a pair of ACF Fiorentina (AKA “Viola” because of the purple color of their uniforms) shorts to fit in with the crowd. However, I would not be caught dead wearing those shorts outside of Florence. Who you root for on the pitch is a big part of life in Italy, and is the source of right-wing popularization among primarily young male spectators. Let’s delve into that!
IT STARTS WITH COMMUNITY
Italy’s victory in the 1982 World Cup against Spain kickstarted the “footballization” of Italian society. Then President Sandro Pertini synthesized his political presence with Italy’s win, promoting a massive national sense of community among a traditionally regionalized country. The football stadium became a bridge between politicians and fans of the game, which would morph as the political geography of Italy did.
RISE IN THE RIGHT-WING
As much as football unites in Italy, it divides. The 1982 moment of Italian community is looked upon as a watershed moment, but regionalism has since superseded its nationalist sentiments. A fierce divide between the north and south can be often found at games between northern and southern clubs, surpassing playful banter. From these divides regionalist right-wing groups rise—such as the infamous Ultras.
FOOTBALL HOOLIGANS AND GOVERNMENT
The state of football in Italy reflects the state of its greater society. So, it’s worrying that neo-nazi groups like the Ultras are so big at Italian stadiums. It is equally worrying that groups like the Ultras are associated with regionalist political parties in Italy, like the former Lega Nord (which is now just La Lega). With the popularity of Italian populist politics at an all-time high after Giorgia Meloni’s election, ideas propagated by the Ultras could find their way (albeit in a diluted state) into the halls of Italian parliament.
The Plague of Populism 
I never really drew connections between the far-right and sports until we had some of our discussions on it in class and I read your post here. It’s actually really scary that such a unifying and inherently peaceful aspect of society could be infested with such rhetoric, but of course we saw this kind of stuff all the way back before WWII with the 1936 Olympics.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading your post made me consider the position of hockey within Canadian politics. I think Canadians emphasize our love of hockey to promote a specific image of Canadian identity and national strength, evoking ideas of Canadians as being able to withstand the elements and connecting us to our “conquering the wilderness” settler identity. It’s no surprise that Stephen’s Harper’s interest to increase military references/presence in sporting matches and his efforts to promote sports history connected with his interest in cultivating a stronger sense of Canadian Identity. It’s also interesting how Canadians reference hockey matches against certain nations (cough RUSSIA cough) to project a larger ideological or national victory that proves Canada’s strength. I wouldn’t say that Canadian’s political relationship with hockey has quite the same intensity as Italy’s relationship with football, but it doesn’t feel that far-off either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Prior to reading this post, I never would have thought that football is so closely linked to far-right populist expressions of identity. However, as you demonstrated Italian football culture certainly has the capacity to (and a history of) using the game to spread populist, far-right rhetoric. Particularly, sports, I feel, have an innate role as ‘founding moments’ of a nation, something that we can see across the globe and across politics (such as the Soviet-Canada world series summit game). The success that sports has in creating and mobilizing identity prompted me to consider why sports work so well. I find that sports are not only accessible, but an encouraged part of daily life. Do you think that the constant contact the ‘everyday man’ with sporting culture and the perceived value of sports for ‘the people’ play roles in shaping these populist identities? Overall, great post, Jacob!
LikeLiked by 1 person
As I am writing this comment I am currently watching a word cup game, so this perfectly ties in. And as somewhat of a football fan I am glad you touched upon Lazio, I went in the summer to Rome and was actually asked to get a Lazio jersey as a gift. (I quickly aborted this mission after I was told about the far-right connections) – which goes to show how widespread and easy it is for fun national pride and coming together can quickly devolve into something much darker. I would like to point out that football hooliganism and far-right support became so bad in European football in the 1980s that by the 1990s in the UK a complete overhaul of the sport was made in an attempt to eradicate the hold right wing belief had on the sport. And while I am no football aficionado I have yet to see a major push be made in other European countries (namely central Europe) to really tackle this long standing issue.
LikeLike