The Italian Football League has banned players from wearing shirts bearing the number 88 starting from the current 2023-2024 season due to anti-Semitism.
The association justified the ban as part of a declaration to combat anti-Semitism throughout the country, as the number 88 is used by neo-Nazis as their symbol.
Last season 2022-2023, Toma Pasic (Lazio player) and Mario Pasalic (Atalanta player) wore the number 88 shirt in the Italian First Division.
As a result of the new decision in the Italian League, Pasic received the number 26 shirt, while Pasalic now wears the number 8 shirt.
Last June, Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina commented on the decision to ban wearing the No. 88 shirt by saying, “The football world is united in the fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination.”
Italian officials signed a declaration of intent to combat anti-Semitism, which included several measures to combat racism in the wake of some events that occurred last season.
