Italy vs. Belgium: It’s Already a Disgrace at the Olympic Stadium as the National Anthems Play
Italy vs. Belgium—the Azzurri’s opening match in the new edition of the Nations League and Roberto Mancini’s debut in his second stint as head coach—began with yet another moment of national embarrassment. What’s more, it occurred even before the opening whistle. In fact, as the national anthems were being played, part of the crowd in the stands at the Olympic Stadium booed the visitors’ anthem, “La Brabançonne.” The rest of the crowd immediately sensed the sensitivity of the moment and tried to drown out the noise of the “usual suspects” with a thunderous round of applause, but the damage was already done—and on an international scale. Moreover, for Italian soccer, this is yet another avoidable storm following the one sparked by the “boycott” of the minute of silence in memory of Sandro Mazzola by some Juventus fans.
The incident comes at an already delicate time for Italian soccer, fresh off its third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup and desperately seeking to regain credibility, both on and off the field. Mancini had returned to the Azzurri bench with the stated goal of winning back angry fans who feel betrayed: “Regarding the decision made years ago, I’ll have to do well to win back the Azzurri fans who are angry or feel betrayed,” the head coach himself admitted at a press conference in recent days. That goal became immediately more difficult to achieve following the evening’s events at the Olimpico.
The match against Mark Van Bommel’s Belgium marks the first step in an intense stretch that will see the Azzurri play four games in just eleven days, with upcoming matches against Turkey and a tough away game in Saint-Denis against Zinedine Zidane’s France. In Group 1 of League A, the competition is of the highest caliber, and the minimum goal will be to secure one of the top two spots to advance to the quarterfinals scheduled for March 2027.
Moreover, as mentioned, the tense atmosphere surrounding the national team is part of a broader context of controversy that has already engulfed Italian soccer in recent days. The incident involving some Juventus ultras’ failure to observe a minute of silence for Sandro Mazzola had shaken the soccer world, sparking outraged reactions from many quarters and resulting in a 10,000-euro fine imposed on the club by the Sports Judge. This series of incidents paints a troubling picture in terms of respect and sportsmanship, and risks further tarnishing the image of Italian soccer in the eyes of Europe.
