West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan today insisted he would not consider former player Paolo di Canio as a future manager of the club because of his fascist views.
Di Canio, who was appointed as the new Sunderland manager this week, was linked with a return to West Ham earlier this season but, writing in today’s Independent, Sullivan said the 44-year-old should not manage in England until he has renounced his political beliefs. “Fascism is always intolerable but managers, like owners, have an additional duty to the wider community,” said Sullivan. “That is why, despite having once considered him a future manager of West Ham, my partner David Gold and I wouldn’t do so now — unless he renounced his extreme views.
“Paolo di Canio is in the top rank of West Ham legends. He has been a tremendous supporter of the club for years and, whenever I’ve met him, struck me as charming, intelligent and what you might call Italian in the extreme. For all these reasons, I find it very hard to criticise him — but harder still to swallow the events of this week. Put simply, Paolo should not be managing a club until he has convincingly renounced fascism.”
Di Canio yesterday issued a statement claiming he does not support ideology of fascism but Sullivan said: “The statement he issued was, if not too late, certainly too broad. Until he provides a clear refutation of his previous position, we’ll have to assume he thinks fascism and football can get along. Sunderland should not have appointed him manager.”
