PHOTOS: GETTY/Europe
Yesss! Italian football phenom Mario Balotelli serves Brooklyn A train realness for the paparazzi in Rio de Janeiro.
Balotelli also stripped down on the pitch during his goal celebration on Sunday. Italy won 2 to 1 over Mexico at the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 Group A. A few more AFTER THE JUMP ...
Continue reading "SPORNO: Trade Alert! Mario Balotelli Strips Down" »
PHOTOS: GETTY/Europe and REUTERS
La Dolce Vita? The Serie A match between AC Milan and Roma on Sunday was suspended because of racist chanting and abuse hurled at football superstar Mario Balotelli.
Watch the video at around 1:00 and listen to the monkey chants AFTER THE JUMP ...
The game was stopped early in the second half after Roma fans jeered the Milan striker Mario Balotelli. A warning was announced over the public address system and play resumed.
Allegri criticised the interruption ... as an unsuccessful compromise and said that Balotelli was being increasingly taunted by abuse. "People should go to the stadium to see two teams battling each other on the pitch, not this sort of thing, it's a place for the uncivilised," he told Milan's website "Above all, the culture in Italy is backward – tonight we had racism, laser beams flashed in the eyes of players and an interrupted match."
Mario Balotelli is Italy's first born-and-bred Black footballing superstar. The 21-year-old striker was born in Italy to Ghanaian immigrants. Balotelli has repeatedly been subjected to racial taunts in Italy and across Southern and Eastern Europe.
AC Milan's star midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng walked off the pitch after suffering racist abuse in January. The entire AC Milan team followed Boateng off the field. The 25-year-old German plays for Ghana's international team. Despite the racist abuse on Sunday, the team wasn't likely to abandon Sunday's game because it was a must-win to clinch third place. The game ended in a 0-0 draw.
Meanwhile: The English Football Association will vote to "introduce minimum five-game bans for racial abuse. The sanction ... is in response to concerns about a resurgence of racism in the English game," reports the AP.
Watch the video at around 1:00 and listen to the monkey chants AFTER THE JUMP ...
Continue reading "VIDEO: Rome Fans Hurl Racist Monkey Chants at Mario Balotelli" »
PHOTO: AP
Italy's first Black cabinet minister has been targeted by so much "violent" racist abuse from right-wing politicians and neo-Nazi groups that "the government [has] authorized its anti-discrimination office to investigate," reports AP.
Forty-eight-year old eye surgeon Cecile Kyenge was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and emigrated to Italy more than 30 years ago. Kyenge's April 27 appointment as Minister for Integration has sparked a "much-needed discussion on race and immigration" across Italy, notes TIME.
Kyenge has proposed overhauling the process for children born in Italy to immigrant parents to obtain Italian citizenship. These children can only apply when they are 18 under current law.
"Kyenge wants to impose her tribal traditions from the Congo," said Mario Borghezio, a member of the European Parliament for Italy’s anti-immigration Northern League in an April 30 radio interview. "She seems like a great housekeeper," he added. "But not a government minister."
Even in Italy, a country all too often permeated by casual bigotry, Borghezio’s words were a step too far. An online petition calling for him to be sanctioned or evicted from his post has gathered more than 75,000 signatures, and the Northern League’s leader, Roberto Maroni, a former Interior Minister, has come under pressure to denounce him. Maroni himself reacted with hostility to Kyenge, voicing opposition to her proposal on citizenship.
Meanwhile, the Italian government has launched an investigation into neo-fascist websites, on which Kyenge has been denigrated as a "Congolese monkey" and "the black anti-Italian." Kyenge denounced the attacks as representative of a minority opinion and called for the public at large to respond. "I’m black and I’m proud of it," she said. "It’s important to underline that."
The Guardian adds:
"[Kyenge] is one of two naturalised Italians in the government, both elected for the centre-left Democratic party. The other is a former international canoeist, Josefa Idem. The inclusion in the cabinet of blonde, German-born Idem, who won an Olympic gold medal and five world championships for Italy, caused no similar controversy.
In related news: A racist poster created by anti-gay activists has depicted the French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira as King Kong. Taubira made history with her appointment as the Minister of Justice and became the highest ranking Black cabinet official ever in French government. Taubira emerged as the government's spokesperson on the marriage equality debate. France became the 14th nation to legalize equal marriage nationwide on April 23.
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PHOTOS: EPA
This is brilliant. AC Milan midfield hotness Kevin-Prince Boateng has announced that he may leave Italian football after racist chants prompted him to walk off the pitch during a friendly match on Thursday. The entire AC Milan team followed Boateng off the field.
Watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...
The 25-year-old German—who plays for Ghana's international team—says he would do it again even if he were fined or suspended, reports The Guardian.
[Boateng] has been publicly back by Milan, with the club president, Silvio Berlusconi, insisting that his players would always walk off the pitch if they are subjected to further racist abuse.
"I could hear the first monkey calls after five minutes when I was on the ball," he said. "At first, I didn't think anything of it but then it happened over and over again. I went to the referee and told him that if I hear it again, then I'd quit. He tried to calm me down. When it started again in the 26th minute with the monkey calls, then I thought: 'That's it, I'm not carrying on.'"
Boateng told CNN on Friday that he would walk off the pitch again should he face further racist chants – despite Fifa and Uefa warning players against that action. "It's easy to just turn a blind eye; taking action is more difficult," he added. "I would have done the very same thing had it been a Champions League match against Real Madrid – and I will always do it."
Boateng was born in Berlin. More on the German angle and how German media is reporting the incident at Deutsche Welle ...
The other Black players on AC Milan—M'Baye Niang, Urby Emanuelson and Sulley Muntari—were the also targets of racist abuse, reports CNN.
Watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...
Continue reading "VIDEO: AC Milan Walks Off the Field After Racist Abuse of Boateng" »
PHOTOS: GETTY, AP
European football's governing body has announced it will discipline Croatia after "hundreds" of fans hurled racist abuse, "monkey chants" and threw several bananas at Italy's Black football superstar Mario Balotelli. It happened Thursday during Croatia's 1-1 draw against Italy at the European Championships in Poland, reports the Daily Mail and SKY Sports.
UEFA acted after the FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) network announced on Friday their observers heard between 300 and 500 Croatia fans chanting monkey noises at Italy striker Balotelli in Thursday's match. That followed reports a photographer witnessed a steward retrieving a banana from the pitch as well as hearing the same chants.
It is understood UEFA are still probing allegations the Manchester City striker, 21, was subjected to monkey chants in Italy's opening match against Spain on Sunday. Saturday's announcement of proceedings against Croatia followed a 25,000-euro ($33,000 USD) fine on Friday after their fans set off and threw fireworks and missiles, and a supporter invaded the pitch, during Sunday's win over Republic of Ireland.
Mario Balotelli is Italy's first born-and-bred Black footballing superstar. The 21-year-old striker was born in Italy to Ghanaian immigrants. Balotelli has previously announced that he will walk off the pitch if subjected by racist abuse—and he did just that on Friday.
This is just the latest and perhaps most egregious example of racist abuse at the EURO 2012 games. Czech Republic defender Theodor Gebre Selassie was subjected to monkey chants during his side's opener against Russia last Friday. The Netherlands' four Black players also faced racist jeers from on-lookers during training on Wednesday.
The EURO 2012 games are hosted by Poland and Ukraine, which was represented last month at Eurovision by a Black contestant. "Of the 20 selected national teams, 8 have at least one black player," reports Afro-Europe. England, France and the Netherlands have the highest number of Black players.
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PHOTOS: GETTY
Model hotness Christian Ragin fills out his briefs—once again!—and demonstrates the best Versace accessories for spring/summer 2012 are a hard set of abs, electric blue loungewear and a firm "package".
Christian was last seen demonstrating abs and pecs for VIBE, modeling spring fashion and as Keyshia Cole's love interest in the "Trust" video. Christian serves executive realness and pastel fierceness at Milan Fashion Week WHEN YOU JUMP ...
Continue reading "HOT: Christian Ragin in Versace Briefs for Milan Fashion Week" »
PHOTOS: AP and GETTY
Dontcha love track and field season?
British Olympian Philips Idowu jumped to another gold medal in the men's triple jump at the IAAF Golden Gala in Rome on Thursday. And he was definitely fit in all the right places ...
The British-Nigerian track star won silver at Beijing 2008 in the triple jump. Idowu—known for his hair colors, prominent tongue piercing and prominent "packaging"—also posed nude in a brilliant series of adverts for Gatorade.
Phillips Idowu has set his sights on the triple jump world recorld. The European triple jump champ also won gold at the recent AVIVA Grand Prix in Brirmingham. Some sporno-rific images from that WHEN YOU JUMP ...
Continue reading "SPORNO: Olympic Hotness Phillips Idowu is "Fit" in All the Right Places" »
There is some intrigue developing around Zimbabwe's notoriously anti-gay despot Robert Mugabe. Over the weekend, Mugabe managed to circumvent the European Union's travel ban on him and arrived in the Vatican for the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II. Several Zimbabwean media outlets report that before Mugabe departed, party leaders and military chiefs "demanded" that he defer elections and immediately appoint a successor.
"He was told that he was no longer marketable as a candidate," sources told The Standard.
Sources said Mugabe and the security chiefs held a teleconference last week, when the veteran leader was in Singapore, where the president was told to tone down on talk of having an election this year. He was also told to instead direct his energies to appointing a successor in an effort to prevent further fissures within the party and the country.
The sources revealed that the hawks and securocrats told Mugabe that if need be, he had to dictate a successor to his party and they would support that person. "He was told that he was no longer marketable as a candidate," an informant revealed. "Zanu PF’s best chance was in identifying a successor who would be sold to the electorate between now and 2013.":
There are many questions surrounding the health of the 87-year-old despot, reports Voice of America.
"Mugabe has traveled to Singapore for the fifth time in four months, explaining that he returned to escort his ailing wife Grace home though some observers believe he made the trip for his own medical treatment. News reports have persistently circulated in recent years that he sought treatment in the Asian city state for prostrate cancer, but his staff has steadfastly denied such reports."
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party entered into a coalition government with the MDC in 2008. Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have rejected calls to include gay rights in the new constitution. Last month, Mugabe slammed the "filthy gays" of Europe and the European Union for imposing an asset freeze and travel ban on him and his inner circle.
Gay men and transgender women face widespread harassment, violence and rape in Zimbabwe, the U.S. State Department reported in its annual human rights survey. Two LGBT activists were arrested and tortured last year. Both were acquitted of all charges.
IMAGE: GETTY
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe's notoriously anti-gay President Robert Mugabe slammed the "filthy gays" of Europe and the European Union for imposing an asset freeze and travel ban on him and his inner circle. Mugabe has managed to circumvent the ban and arrived yesterday in the Vatican for the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II, reports the BBC.
An EU travel ban forbids him from visiting member states but the Vatican, where the ceremony will take place, is a sovereign state and not in the EU. Mr Mugabe, a Roman Catholic, has been allowed to transit through Italy.
Italy's foreign ministry said it had requested an exemption from the EU travel ban for Mr Mugabe. A Vatican spokesman said Mr Mugabe had not been personally invited but as the head of a state with which the Vatican has relations he was entitled to attend.
Reports the AFP:
Mugabe, a Catholic who has been widely condemned for human rights abuses, also attended John Paul II's funeral in 2005 despite the 2002 travel ban—a visit that drew controversy because Britain's Prince Charles shook hands with him. Twenty-two world leaders are expected to attend the ceremony that will put John Paul II on the path to sainthood, the Vatican said. Five royal families—Belgium, Britain, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Spain—will be represented
Zimbabwe's despotic government is rabidly anti-gay. Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have rejected calls to include gay rights in the new constitution. Mugabe once infamously described gays as "worse than dogs and pigs" and recently apologized to dogs and pigs for the comparison.
Some Background:
Mugabe Denounces "Filthy Gays" of Europe
UN Votes to Condemn Anti-Gay Violence
Zimbabwe: Gay Activist Trial Delayed
Zimbabwe: Gay Activist Acquitted
Mugabe Apologizes to Dogs for Gay Comparison
Zimbabwe Vows to Outlaw Homosexuality in Constitution
After glamming it up for Vivienne Westwood, Togolese-French model hotness David Agbodji closed the Dolce & Gabbana FW 2011 collection in Milan.
This is the third season Agbodji closed a collection in Milan. David A opened and closed Calvin Klein's S/S 2010 show in Milan and since then his nude billboards and short-shorts have branded CK. David goes "after five" AFTER THE JUMP ...
Continue reading "PHOTOS: David Agbodji Closes Dolce & Gabbana FW 2011 in Milan" »
