Serie A: Italy bans jersey number 88

 

Italian football authorities have banned the use of jersey number 88 across grounds in Italian football to curb the rise of antisemitism. (Photo credit: GOAL)

In an effort to lessen the effect of antisemitism in Italian football, the Italian Football Association on Tuesday announced its decision to outlaw the wearing of Jersey number 88 in any football game.

This is a result of the implied meanings associated with the number 88, which serves as a numerical code for the phrase "Heil Hitler" and where the letter H is the eighth in the alphabet. This regulation is effective right away on all football fields.

A SS Lazio supporter who attended a Lazio home game wearing the number 88 shirt and using the name "Hitlerson" received a lifetime ban from all Lazio matches as the club entirely distanced itself from such antics and their results.

The project, which the Italian government and the Italian football association (FIGC) are coordinating, will also include the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's code of conduct.

In accordance with the initiative, games will be stopped whenever antisemitic slogans are heard at any venue, just as racism is currently dealt with. Italian football is adamant about eliminating all types of prejudice from the game.

The measures, according to Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, are "an adequate and efficient response to intolerable prejudice that too often arises in our stadiums."

Gabriele Gravina, head of the FIGC, continued, "Discriminatory behavior has a direct impact on Italian society and undermines soccer's credibility."