An Italian youth football team plans to wear blackface as an anti-racism gesture, and it has the support of the Italian FA

Aurora Desio Calcio will make the gesture in its next round of fixtures after a 10-year-old player at the club was reportedly called a "s---- black" by an opposition fan.
"As a symbolic gesture of total condemnation of racism and support to all those who are victims, next weekend some of our teams will play with their faces painted black," a club statement reads.
Sibilia, who is also president of Italy's National Amateur League, says he hopes other clubs will follow suit.
"I hope [it] will see the widest participation possible," Sibilia said on Twitter.
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The vice president of the Italian Football Federation, Cosimo Sibilia, says he supports an Italian youth team's plans to wear blackface as an anti-racism gesture.

Aurora Desio Calcio will wear blackface in its next round of fixtures in response to a 10-year-old player at the club being called a "negro di merda," which translates to either "s---- black" or "s---- negro," by an opposition fan on Saturday.

"We expect an internal investigation to be started to identify those who made themselves the author of this vile and unworthy gesture towards a 10-year-old child," a club statement read, as translated by Business Insider's associate translation editor Ruqayyah Moynihan.

"As a symbolic gesture of total condemnation of racism and support to all those who are victims, next weekend some of our teams will play with their faces painted black."

Sibilia, who is also the president of the Italy's National Amateur League (Lega Nazionale Dilettanti), said he fully backs the initiative and expects other teams from the across the country to follow suit.

"@LegaDilettanti will firmly support all the initiatives put in place by our companies and managers to fight racism, particularly the one @AuroraDesio1922 is promoting, which I hope will see the widest participation possible," Sibilia said on Twitter.

Both Aurora Desio and the Italian FA did not immediately respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.

Sibilios comments top off a dark week for Italian football

The reported abuse of Aurora Desio's young player came on the same day Brescia striker Mario Balotelli was subjected to monkey chants by Hellas Verona fans in a Serie A match.

Balotelli kicked the ball into the crowd and threatened to walk off the pitch as a result of the abuse, which was later denied by Verona's manager Ivan Juric, who said that it was "nothing more" than "whistling and teasing."

Just a day prior, a match between AS Roma and SSC Napoli was temporarily suspended after discriminatory chants were heard between the two sets of fans.

In the same match, Napoli and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly was also subject to racist chanting, according to The Washington Post.

Anti-discriminatory body Fare says that racism in Italian football runs deep and that the Italian football authorities of which Sibilia is at the very top of are failing to protect its players.

"The rot is deep," Fare executive director Piara Powar told the BBC. "We believe the Italian authorities and the disciplinary system is simply not fit for purpose.

"Whether it is the FIGC [Italian Football Federation] or Serie A, they have failed to protect countless players from racism over the past year and have no meaningful response to the endemic racism in stadiums.

"There are no visible campaigns, no progressive fan leaders, as well as apathy and prejudice among the media.

"No one is taking the issue seriously no one apart from the players, the victims themselves, and a few allies who have been courageous enough to stand up."

A Bulgaria crowd appeared to make monkey chants and Nazi salutes at England's black players, and the team's captain begged the fans to stop

Bulgaria's goalkeeper says England players 'overreacted' to the monkey noises and Nazi salutes during their match in Sofia

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