Saudi’s stance on women’s attendance during Italian Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia prompts sexism row
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A Saudi ban on women fans from attending the Italian Super Cup final prompts sexism row. Unaccompanied women are only able to buy tickets for the ‘family’ seats whereas men can sit alone
The ban on unaccompanied women attending the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia has caused outrage in Italy.
The cup will be played between Italian football clubs Juventus and AC Milan in Riyadh in mid-January, but women are only able to buy tickets for the “family” section whereas men can sit alone, the Italian football league announced.
The Indepndent reports that Matteo Salvini, Italy’s interior minister and deputy prime minister, argued holding the match in Saudi Arabia was “disgusting” due to the restrictions put on female fans.
He condemned the fact sections of the King Abdullah Sports City stadium will be reserved for men only for the match on 16 January.
“It’s sad, it’s disgusting that the Italian Super Cup is being played in an Islamic country where women cannot go to the stadium if they are not accompanied by men,” he said on Facebook on Thursday.
Vincenzo Spadafora, responsible for the government’s equal opportunities, said he was “bitterly disappointed” – saying it was “unacceptable for Italian football to turn a blind eye to this blatant discrimination”.
Serie A, the game’s organisers, defended the decision to hold the game in Saudi Arabia and challenged Mr Salvini’s claim that women could not enter the stadium without a man.
“Until last year, women (in Saudi Arabia) could not attend any sporting event,” Serie A president, Gaetano Micciche, said.
