Italy-Israel: Ziberna, out of politics and sport, is like doping

(ANSA) – TRIESTE, OCTOBER 14 – “The starting whistle! I am attending the match of our national football team against that of Israel. Sport, not politics. The spirit must remain that of healthy sporting competition, made up of preparation, sacrifice, joy and disappointments. But always with fairness and respect for the opponent, who must never become an enemy!”. It is a message spread by the mayor of Gorizia, Rodolfo Ziberna this evening. “It’s always a mistake when politics wants to exploit a sporting event, regardless of who is demonstrating and who benefits from it in terms of visibility. The same goes for music, dance, culture in general! Woe betide you if you don’t invite a solo violinist because he is Russian, Ukrainian, Israeli or Lebanese! Tomorrow then we will not invite someone because of the color of his skin or his religious confession?!? Sport must be a competition in which the best wins.” For Ziberna, sport is what “makes our young people grow healthy, physically but also ethically. We are all against doping in sport” so why “are there those who tolerate sport being ‘doped’ by politics?!” However, “the right to express one’s thoughts, in compliance with the law, must obviously be guaranteed. And it is”. (HANDLE).