Earlier this week, on Wednesday, former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger died at the age of 100 in his home in Kent, Connecticut. He was also the national security advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from 1969 to 1977.
On Friday, the official English account of Serie A heavyweight Juventus posted a heartfelt message in memory of Kissinger. “The club bids farewell to a dear Juventus friend and a true Italian football fan, Henry Kissinger,” the post on X (formerly Twitter) read.
The club bids farewell to a dear Juventus friend and a true Italian football fan, Henry Kissinger. pic.twitter.com/N0emHrQYSD
The comments section was filled with a lot of negative replies. The people clearly expressed their anger at the post and were certainly shocked to see the Italian club post a message for a figure as polarizing as Kissinger.
Kissinger was a hugely divisive and controversial individual in the world of politics. While some appreciated his diplomacy, the majority condemned him for his tyrannical approach after it was found that he was associated with war crimes in countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, the Chilean coup d’etat, and Operation Condor.
Carlo Garganese, a prominent football writer who primarily covers Italian football, criticised Juventus on X. “I’m ashamed Juventus celebrate one of history’s most evil men,” Garganese said in his tweet.
Henry Kissinger was personally responsible for the murder of 3-4 MILLION people…as a conservative estimate
He committed war crimes in more than a dozen nations
I’m ashamed Juventus celebrate one of history’s most evil men
But, why did Juve pay tribute to Kissinger? Well, Kissinger was a friend of former Juventus president Gianni Agnelli, one of the most important men in modern Italian history.
The duo would often watch football matches together, not just in Turin, but across Europe.
We often went to see football matches together in England and in various European countries. Once we went to the stadium in Turin for a Juventus-Napoli match which ended with many goals.
It was a great shared passion but the problem is that Gianni always wanted to leave the stadium ten minutes before the end and often the games were still in the balance but there was nothing to do, we went out.
– Henry Kissinger in an interview with La Repubblica
The post by Juve has certainly not appeased the fans and the outrage that it has sparked is proof of the image that Kissinger’s bloodied past has created in the eyes of the general public.
