MILAN - From Appiano Gentile to Milan and back again. One workout finished and
another one began. But in between, Ivan Cordoba had a very special appointment
with elementary school children at the Istituto Comprensivo Tommaso Grossi on
Via Monte Velino. The Nerazzurri’s team manager met with the youngsters for the
'Io tifo Positivo - Nel segno di Candido' project on the International Day for
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
At the Lido di Milano, the new headquarters for the projects carried out by Don
Gino Rigoldi’s Comunità Nuova, Cordoba attended the meeting that also included
president Don Gino Rigoldi, the councillor for sport and recreation for the
City of Milan Chiara Bisconti, the councillor for sport, recreation and youth politics of the Province of Milan Cristina Stancari, and
Alessandro Cannavò, representing the 'Candido Cannavò Foundation for Sport'.
Before answering the many questions addressed to him by the children, Cordoba
spoke about racism and the possibility of halting matches already underway when
these kinds of cases occur. "It’s difficult to understand what a person
feels in such a moment. What I strongly believe is that this has to stop. For
my part, I can say that I had similar insults aimed at me in the past and I
always ignored them, to such an extent as was possible. But of course it’s
something very upsetting. The problem is that many people go to the stadium
with the idea of going to war, but the reality is something different. It’s
normal for a team to try to defeat their opponent, but once the game is over
the players are all friends, as they were before. By now the world has become
so multicultural that it’s hard to imagine someone having problems with another
person because of the colour of their skin, or because they have a different
religion. As a player, did I ever feel alone when facing this problem? I think
it’s always possible to do more, especially since I feel it’s something that
should involve everyone."
Then as a spokesman representing the Nerazzurri, the team manager stated: "I’m speaking for Inter and I can say that, as a club and as a team, we stand for internationalism, which is what we have always stood for. It’s written in the history of the club, which has always welcomed players from around the world. And that’s why I deeply regret hearing about the events that took place at the San Siro in the match against Tottenham. That group of people doesn’t represent the pure fans of the sport – only a minority. It’s like when someone says that everyone in Colombia is a criminal or a drug trafficker. It’s simply not true. It’s only a small group of people but one that gets taken for the majority."
