Italian Football Bans Players From Wearing Number 88

Italian Football has prohibited players from donning the No. 88 jersey due to its associations with Adolf Hitler in an effort to combat anti-Semitism.

The letter “H” is the eighth number in the alphabet, and neo-Nazi groups have adopted the number to symbolize the phrase “Heil Hitler.”

A supporter was spotted in March wearing a Lazio shirt that read “Hitlerson” and the No. 88 on the back. That supporter and the other two performers.

The use of “Roman salutes” linked to fascism was also prohibited from future Stadio Olimpico events.

The most well-known player to have worn No. 88 in the past was Gianluigi Buffon while he was at Parma, but he later changed jersey numbers after admitting he ‘didn’t know the hidden meaning’ of 88.

On Tuesday, the president of the Italian Football Association (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, and representatives of the Italian government signed a document prohibiting players from donning the number.

Additionally, the restriction mandates that any anti-Semitic chanting or actions be grounds for game suspension.

The actions are “an adequate and efficient response to intolerable prejudice that too often arises in our stadiums,” according to Matteo Piantedosi, Italy’s interior minister.

Football’s credibility is “hurt by discriminatory behaviour,” according to FIGC president Gravina, and this behaviour “directly reflects on Italian society.”

Any player who wears the No. 88 in Italy’s Serie A and lesser levels will now need to select a new jersey before the start of the season.

The rule change will have an impact on two players, Mario Pasalic of Atlanta and Toma Basic of Lazio. There is no evidence that the players were aware of the association between the number and fascism.

A code of ethics in line with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance is also a part of the effort.

According to the 1993 Mancino statute banning gestures, actions, and phrases praising Nazism or Fascism, the supporter who wore the “Hitlerson” jersey at Lazio during the Rome derby in March was scheduled to face charges.

Following the game, the Jewish community of Rome denounced the alleged anti-Semitic behaviour.

Ruth Dureghello, president of the Jewish community of Rome, wrote on social media: “An entire stand chanting anti-Semitic chants, a “fan” in the stands wearing a Hitlerson jersey and the number 88, and we, as always, the only ones outraged and protesting.

“Can it be that everyone continues to pretend that nothing is happening?”