The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) began an investigation on Monday into fans of the Juve Stabia club (second division) who celebrated a goal scored by Romano Floriani Mussolini, great-grandson of Benito Mussolini, on Sunday with the fascist salute.
“The federation’s federal prosecutor’s office will send a report on the incident, together with video documents, to the sports judge of the Serie B League for a decision,” the FIGC told AFP.
Last Sunday, during the match corresponding to the 18th round of the Italian second division, between Juve Stabia and Cesena, Romano Floriani Mussolini scored the victory (1-0) in the 21st minute, his first goal with Juve Stabia.
In pictures of the celebration that spread on social networks, many fans of the club from the town of Castellammare di Stabia, near Naples, were seen doing what appeared to be a Roman salute, or a fascist salute, raising their arms. towards the horizon, while the stadium sounds pronouncing the last name of the scorer of the goal.
Floriani Mussolini celebrated his first professional goal by putting his finger to his lips, a gesture often used to silence criticism.
The young 21-year-old defender is training with Lazio, who loaned him last summer in Europe to Juve Stabia.
Since his arrival, the right back, whose shirt has his surname Mussolini preceded by an F, has played all the games for his team, which is fourth in Serie B.
His mother Alessandra, a former Italian and European deputy, is the granddaughter of Benito Mussolini, founder of fascism who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.
His rise to power was surrounded by controversies and once head of state, Mussolini dissolved political parties, closed the media, used chemical weapons in his invasion of Ethiopia where he looted historical relics, dictated in a series of racist laws against the Jews that, for example, he expelled from public schools.
In an interview for Gazzetta dello Sport last month, the player expressed his desire to play in Serie A and wear the shirt of the Italian national team.
“My great-grandfather Benito was a very important person for Italy, but we are in 2024 and the world has changed, these controversies linked to my surname do not interest me. There will always be prejudice, but my work nothing do it and I don’t care” , he stated in that interview.