OpinionTwo fascists: one fighting for his young career, the other capping his at Sunderland
It's hard to reconcile the vastly different treatment meted out to Giorgos Katidis and Paolo di Canio over their outbursts
Greek footballer Giorgos Katidis and Sunderland's new manager, Paolo di Canio, have much in common. Both hail from the sunny shores of the Mediterranean, both are talented footballers and both are in the dock for giving fascist salutes to fans.
What separates them is Katidis is fighting for his fledgling career while Di Canio is celebrating his career-topping appointment as manager of an EPL club.
Katidis, an U21 Greek national player, has been apologising profusely for his offending gesture which he made after scoring his side's winning goal against Veria last month. The 20-year-old was banned from all levels of international football for life and sin-binned by his club, AEK Athens, for the rest of the season with his long-term future to be decided in the summer.
At a disciplinary hearing last week Katidis pleaded he was "not a Nazi or fascist" and called his act "totally unacceptable".
"I feel terrible for those I upset with the stupidity of my act," he said. "I also understand fully the reasons for the banning decision made by the Greek Football Federation to which I owe a huge apology as it has helped me to get where I am in the professional game."
The midfielder, who had a trial at Everton last year, claimed he "did not know what I was doing". If true, he is paying a high price for his offensive ignorance.