Yet Italy, which shared arguably the most beautiful final in World Cup history — against Brazil in 1970 — appears to be headed back to the dark ages of prejudice.
The goals that defeated Italy in that final 44 years ago were scored by Pelé, Gérson, Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto. No right-minded person could have questioned the mixed ethnic backgrounds of those players.
Now, however, in a knee-jerk response to Italy’s early elimination from the World Cup in Brazil, the leading candidate to head the country’s soccer federation made a public reference to Africans as “banana-eaters.”
