I was racist in the club! The event that is on the agenda in Italy…
Guinean-born Italian player Cherif Traore, who plays for the Benetton Treviso rugby union team in Italy, said a rotten banana was found in a package he received during an anonymous gift-giving inside the club for Christmas.
The incident, which arose when the 28-year-old player shared this situation on his Instagram account, became an agenda in the country.
THE FRIENDS OF THE TEAM LAUGH!
Traore, in his post on social media, stated that the players, coaching staff and team employees, like a “secret Santa Claus”, give each other gifts anonymously, as is the club’s tradition every year at Christmas, ” Yesterday, when it was my turn, I found a banana in my package. A rotten banana in a bag. Beyond being offensive and racist, what hurt me the most was that my classmates laughed at it. As if everything was normal.” he used the phrases.
Noting that he usually tried to be brave in the face of such racist approaches, but this time he couldn’t sleep and wanted to share this, Traore said: “Some of my teammates, mostly foreigners, supported me. Outside of Italy, such a move would be severely condemned. I want to say my words this time too.” he made statements.
Traore stated that he shared this incident openly on his social media accounts so that other people would not be in the same situation in the future, and said that he hoped the person who sent him the package with rotten bananas would also learn a lesson.
CLUB CONFIRMED RACISM AND APPEAL
In the statement made by the Benetton Treviso team, all kinds of racism and discrimination were strongly condemned and the athlete apologized.
In the statement it was highlighted that Benetton Treviso’s place has always been in favor of respect for people, their cultures, ethnic origins, beliefs and dignity in the face of these events that have nothing to do with sport.
Traore said he later accepted an apology from the club and his teammates, saying “Christmas is forgiveness.”
The Italian press wrote that Traore was the latest victim of racism because of this incident. (AA)