Last night a basketball match was played between Virtus Bologna and Maccabi Tel Aviv, two teams competing in the Euroleague, the premier European basketball championship. But this time, sports took a backseat. For the umpteenth time, political and ideological issues dominate sports competitions. The reason is easy to say: the decision to play the Israeli team at PalaDozza, a historic sports arena in Bologna. Therefore, last night’s demonstration involving, among others, Potere al Popolo, grassroots trade unions, Palestinian youth and collectives, relaunched the ‘Show Israel the red card’ campaign. The activist was also with them Patrick Zaki who, among other things, had decided to express his opinion on its merits with a signed article for Il Manifesto.
In those lines Zaki returns from the deafening silence and continues where he left off months ago. The underlying theme of the speech was to attack the government led by Giorgia Meloni and, of course, Israel. “When sport ceases to be the language of society and turns into a tool of “sportwashing”, the slogans accumulated over decades become questionable”started to be active. It is worth remembering, at the same time, that the government he criticizes, always center-right, is the same government that – thanks to the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – brought him back to Italy safely from Egypt where he was detained.
Then not long after, clarification emerged regarding yesterday’s match. “Today, Bologna – a city that for decades has presented itself as the heart of the Italian left and a historical symbol of anti-fascism – is at a real crossroads: can a city with this heritage host the Maccabi Tel Aviv team in an event that, apparently, should only be sporting?”, you ask. Meanwhile clashes actually occurred.
In fact, last night there were scenes of urban guerrilla warfare in Bologna, with rockets and fireworks launched at police at a demonstration against the games. Currently, eight injuries have been reported among the police.
