Oh, this is brilliant. Apparently, a Turkish lawyer is preparing to sue Inter Milan for offending Muslims by wearing a white shirt bearing a large red cross (and bringing back horrible memories of the Crusades). Yes, Englishfolk, the cross of St George, that one. The lawyer not only seeks financial damages but also wants UEFA to take action against Inter for wearing the shirt in a match against Fenerbahce (which the Turkish side lost 3-0). The red cross, says the lawyer, brings back 'the bloody days of the past'. The red cross is the symbol of the city of Milan. It's also the symbol of many other European cities, not to mention the national flag of England. I wouldn't mind but they were not even wearing it in Turkey, it was in Milan. Turkey's crescent and star flag is that of the Ottoman Empire, an Empire which inflicted its own fair share of bloody days in the past, and I wonder if Turkey has ever been sued by Balkan or Arab lawyers for causing the same offence? This looks like sour grapes at losing 3-0, or an attempt to stir up more false enmity between Islam and Europe. The only thing is... the red cross in Milan's case is the symbol not of St.George, dragon-slaying hero of the Crusaders, but of St.Ambrose, patron saint of the city of Milan, who had nothing to do with the Crusades, having lived almost a millennium before. Now, Inter's new shirts, while commemorating their centenary, were actually last adopted as their home shirts in the days of fascist Italy, when the club was rebranded "Ambrosiana" (Internazionale not being a particularly appropriate name for fascists). So if this guy wants to sue someone, he should sue England for the flag of St.George and the three lions of famed crusader king Richard I on their shirt, but don't sue Inter for that. Sue them for harking back to when they were a bunch of fascists instead.
nothing to do with losing 3-0, then
16.12.07 10:57
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