Incoming Valencia boss Rino Gattuso has responded to accusations of him being a racist, sexist and a homophobe.
Valencia fans have made their anger clear about Gattuso recently, as the Italian edges closer to being announced as the new manager of the Spanish club. La Repubblica had recently published a feature defending the ex-Napoli boss. Recently, the Italian spoke to Corriere della Sera and gave his views on accusations labelled against him.
He said: “When I hear that I’m a racist, I feel like I’m going crazy. No person, ever, can be judged by the colour of their skin. I know many with white skin who don’t behave well. Racism must always be fought. I coached dozens of players who had a different skin than mine, three of them work in my restaurant, I had teammates whom I loved. For me the color of the skin does not matter, the person counts. His honesty, his loyalty.”
Back in 2008, Gattuso has spoken publicly about why a marriage must always happen between a man and a woman, bringing about accusations of homophobia against him.
In the interview, Gattuso stated: “But then I added that for me, everyone is free to do as he pleases. And that’s what I think. Any freedom, including that of sexual behavior, is welcome, it is a sign of progress.”
He also addressed talk of him being a sexist, saying: “No, absolutely not. In every field, women do as good as or better than men. They are proving it in governments, in companies, in every sector. The more women have responsibilities, the better it will be. I’ll add one thing, which can explain my state of mind that day.”
