Lifetime ban for 'Nazi' salute

By Hum
in The Sporting Arena

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Grand Master

Hum

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The growing sentiment of neo-fascism in Greece appears to have spread to the beautiful game, as AEK Athens midfielder Giorgos Katidis "pulled a Di Canio" by apparently giving a Nazi salute after scoring in his side's 2-1 victory over Veria on Saturday.

For the gesture, the tattooed 20-year-old has been handed a life ban from the Greek National team, whom he once captained at U-19 level. Katidis, however, will not join Di Canio and Christian Abbiati in the pantheon of proud football fascists, as he has denied knowing what the gesture meant on Twitter.

The BBC reports:

The Greek football federation called it "a severe provocation" that insulted "all the victims of Nazi bestiality".

Katidis denied he gave a Nazi salute. "I am not a fascist and would not have done it if I had known what it meant," Katidis said on his Twitter account.

He insisted he was simply pointing at a team mate in the stands.

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Grand Master

+Gary7 Subscriber²

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Katidis denied he gave a Nazi salute. "I am not a fascist and would not have done it if I had known what it meant," Katidis said on his Twitter account.

Is this guy an idiot? Did he go to school?

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Grand Master

theyarecomingforyou

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My opinion is that people need to stop being so sensitive about World War II. If the team wants to be tough then by all means drop the player but a lifetime ban seems incredibly excessive. I mean, we're not talking about somebody publicly endorsing Hitler here; in fact he distanced himself from fascism (whether he is sincere or not isn't really that important). I'm far more concerned about the war crimes and human rights abuses being committed by Israel?crimes that actually compare to the Nazis?than I am about some muppet making a tasteless gesture.

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Grand Master

Dick Montage

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Well, I think if you just ignore them, they'll go away

Doesn't work. Look at how chavs and uneducated idiots are spreading across the world.

I'm far more concerned about the war crimes and human rights abuses being committed by Israel?crimes that actually compare to the Nazis?than I am about some muppet making a tasteless gesture.

As am I, but the two are not mutually exclusive. I can care about both.

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REM2000

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My opinion is that people need to stop being so sensitive about World War II. If the team wants to be tough then by all means drop the player but a lifetime ban seems incredibly excessive. I mean, we're not talking about somebody publicly endorsing Hitler here; in fact he distanced himself from fascism (whether he is sincere or not isn't really that important). I'm far more concerned about the war crimes and human rights abuses being committed by Israel?crimes that actually compare to the Nazis?than I am about some muppet making a tasteless gesture.

usually i would agree, however there has been a rise in facisim and the dangerous right in europe, i mean you only have to look at the BNP and EDL in the UK. I would crack down on this sort of thing as it will breed and people will start think it's ok doing it whenever they want. I can't believe anyone is that stupid where they don't know what doing that salute means, he even does it on the right arm.

Mocking facisim and nazisim is one thing, showing support for it is another.

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Grand Master

giantpotato

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The guy admitted he was doing it to support the Golden Dawn political party, so it wasn't just some innocent gesture. Frankly, IMO he got what he deserved. Turning your back to a problem will not make it go away. The Holocaust happened 2 generations ago and people are forgetting just how horrible it was.

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Grand Master

LUTZIFER

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I still don't understand the idea of why the Nazi symbol, the salute, or anything that goes along with it, is considered bad and frowned upon.

How was the Nazi army different than any other throughout all of history? I'm not saying that they didn't do bad stuff, but I'm sure there's been worse.

The British and the USA probably slaughtered more people than the Germans did. How come no one frowns upon that?

The Americans go in to countries whenever they feel like it and just start slaughtering people all the time and no one thinks nothing of it.

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Grand Master

theyarecomingforyou

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usually i would agree, however there has been a rise in facisim and the dangerous right in europe, i mean you only have to look at the BNP and EDL in the UK. I would crack down on this sort of thing as it will breed and people will start think it's ok doing it whenever they want.

But the function of a democracy is to reflect the will of the population. I find the BNP, UKIP and EDL thoroughly reprehensible but I still believe that such opinions deserve to be heard. If people choose for vote for those parties then I think that reflects a wider problem with society and mainstream politics but those votes must count. A lot of people don't want politics-by-committee, where political parties change with the wind and kowtow to public opinion; they want a leader with vision, one who isn't afraid to stand up for a cause. And unfortunately the mainstream parties aren't delivering that. That's why people are attracted to fringe parties with extreme ideologies, because at least they know those politicians are going to do what they say.

You can't fight fascism by comparing everybody associated with it to Hitler or simply trying to suppress it. Fascism needs to be discredited on its own merit with reasoned arguments and compelling logic.

The guy admitted he was doing it to support the Golden Dawn political party, so it wasn't just some innocent gesture. Frankly, IMO he got what he deserved. Turning your back to a problem will not make it go away. The Holocaust happened 2 generations ago and people are forgetting just how horrible it was.

That wasn't mentioned in the original article. Even so, why can't somebody publicly support a legitimate political party? There are plenty of political ideas that are considered acceptable today that used to be considered extreme in the past (women's right to vote, gay marriage, etc). If somebody believes that women shouldn't be allowed to vote, that gay people shouldn't be allowed to get married or that black people are genetically inferior then as long as they aren't illegally imposing that upon other people then what is the problem? Just because you and I consider such opinions abhorrent doesn't mean somebody else shouldn't be allowed to have a different opinion.

I still don't understand the idea of why the Nazi symbol, the salute, or anything that goes along with it, is considered bad and frowned upon.

How was the Nazi army different than any other throughout all of history? I'm not saying that they didn't do bad stuff, but I'm sure there's been worse.

The British and the USA probably slaughtered more people than the Germans did. How come no one frowns upon that?

The Americans go in to countries whenever they feel like it and just start slaughtering people all the time and no one thinks nothing of it.

That's exactly the problem. Rather than acknowledging that Hitler wasn't entirely evil he has been turned into a clich?d super-villain. It's also about context, as there have been numerous horrific genocides committed since (Rwanda, Sudan, Cambodia) that barely seem to register. In fact if WWII had been between Russia, China and Japan without any involvement from the west then I doubt many people would even mention it today.

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neufuse Veteran

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In the USA kids did the "Nazi Salute" until what the 50's? as part of the pledge of allegiance... other countries had a similar salute... it's not just a "Nazi" thing... just like the swastika isn't only a Nazi thing

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matt4pack

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There are still statues of Stalin in places but no one seems to have a problem with that at least on the scale of being against anything facism for a man who killed many millions more then Hitler did.

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