ROME (AP) — Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution.
Dressed in black, these nostalgics marched through northern Italian towns where Mussolini was arrested and executed at the end of World War II, and also in Predappio, Mussolini’s birthplace and final resting place.
Mussolini was stopped by anti-fascist partisans in Dongo, on the shores of Lake Como, on April 27, 1945, as he tried to escape with his lover, Clara Petacci, following the Allied liberation of Italy.
On Sunday, a group of his supporters marched through Dongo and placed 15 roses in the lake in memory of the ministers and officials from the Mussolini government who were killed there, according to video of the event by LaPresse news agency.
The partisans executed Mussolini and Petacci the following day in the nearby lakeside town of Mezzegra-Giulino, where commemorations were also held Sunday. After a rendition of Taps, the leader of the commemorations shouted “Comrad Benito Mussolini,” and the crowd responded with a stiff-armed fascist salute and chant of “present.”
Several police trucks separated the demonstrators in Dongo from hundreds of protesters who sang the famous partisan song “Bella Ciao” during the ceremony.
The anniversary of Mussolini’s execution fell on the same day that Premier Giorgia Meloni was leading her far-right Brothers of Italy party in an election rally in the city of Pescara. Brothers of Italy traces its roots to the Italian Social Movement, which was founded in 1946 by a chief of staff in Mussolini’s last government and drew fascist sympathizers and officials into its ranks after Mussolini’s fall.
Meloni, who joined the MSI's youth branch as a teenager, has tried to distance her party from its neo-fascist roots. She has condemned fascism's suppression of democracy and insisted that the Italian right handed fascism over to history decades ago. On Sunday, Meloni accused the left of being more of a totalitarian threat to Italy today.
She noted that Communist Party members had made a formal complaint about the tent structures built on the Pescara beachfront to host the Brothers of Italy rally, during which Meloni announced she would head the party's campaign ahead of European Parliament elections in June.
“I note that the Communist Party still exists, and I say so to show where the nostalgics for totalitarianism are in Italy today,” she said.
She earned rounds of applause as she listed her government's accomplishments since coming to power in 2022, and drew cheers when she reaffirmed her working-class roots.
“If you still believe in me, just write ‘Giorgia’ on the ballot, because I am and always will be one of you,” she said.
The message recalled one of her most famous campaign slogans, “I am Giorgia,” which emphasized her Christian nationalistic messaging and went onto become a viral meme and the title of her memoir.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, center, attends the last of a three-day Brothers of Italy party conference ahead of the June elections for the European Parliament, in Pescara, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Writing on shirts and lecture stand reads in Italian "Italy changes Europe." (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks on the last of a three-day Brothers of Italy party conference ahead of the June elections for the European Parliament, in Pescara, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. Writing on lecture stand reads in Italian "Italy changes Europe." (Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse via AP)
Dozens of people raise their arms in the fascist salute and shout the fascist chant "present" in Dongo, northern Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024 during ceremonies to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution. Dressed in black, the neo-fascist supporters marched through northern Italian towns where Mussolini was arrested and executed at the end of World War II. (LaPresse Via AP)
GENEVA (AP) — The Abu Dhabi investors in Manchester City and Girona have been offered divestment options by UEFA to let both compete in the Champions League next season by complying with integrity rules for teams that share owners.
Girona has made a stunning run to a guaranteed top-four finish in Spain’s La Liga, with three key players either loaned or sold via Man City’s influence including Brazilian star Sávio.
Girona, also part-owned by the brother of Man City manager Pep Guardiola, will go into the elite European competition for the first time. City won the 2023 Champions League title and will finish in the top two of the English Premier League.
But the teams have severely tested UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership that guard against collusion in games.
Failing to comply with UEFA’s rules with a proposal by June 3 should see one of the two teams, likely Girona, demoted to the second-tier Europa League. The team finishing higher in its domestic league takes priority.
According to a UEFA document seen on Tuesday by The Associated Press, two options are open to City Football Group, the Abu Dhabi-created operation with stakes in 13 clubs worldwide including 100% of Man City and 47% of Girona.
CFG could solve the problem by selling shares to an independent third party that reduces one ownership stake to below 30%, or transfer all shares in one club to a blind trust overseen by a panel appointed by UEFA.
The trustee could be picked by CFG in a UEFA-approved model that applied this season in a compliance deal for AC Milan, Toulouse and their United States investor Red Bird Capital.
The multi-club ownership issue for UEFA and CFG has loomed since Girona’s league-leading fast start in September.
UEFA declined comment all season pending Girona’s confirmed qualification in the Champions League this month. UEFA also did not comment on a possible pending issue with Jim Ratcliffe's ownership stakes and influence at Manchester United and Nice — both could qualify for the next Europa League.
On Tuesday, UEFA’s club finance monitoring panel wrote to soccer stakeholders to clarify updates to its multi-club rules for entry to European club competitions that were first drafted in the 1998-99 season.
Man City and Girona drew scrutiny for CFG having “decisive influence” over both because the Abu Dhabi operation holds at least 30% of the shares in both, and because of the clubs’ transfer dealings this season.
Girona seemed to meet the UEFA panel’s criteria for clubs that “transferred, permanently or temporarily, three or more players with the other club, directly or indirectly via related parties, during the season.”
Girona has two players on its squad who belong to other CFG clubs: Right back Yan Couto, on loan from Man City, and winger Sávio, on loan from French club Troyes.
Sávio is the revelation of the season in Spain. His dribbling and speed on the left flank have caused mayhem in opposing defenses. The 20-year-old has scored 10 times and is one of the league’s top assist-makers with nine passes for goals. Sávio's end-of-season permanent move to Man City that was reported in February should not be affected by any UEFA decision.
Couto has excelled in joining in the attack from his position of right back, delivering eight assists.
After completing a loan at Girona, Venezuela midfielder Yangel Herrera was sold by City to its sibling club last July.
Man City was bought in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
The CFG was formed five years later, with Man City — by now a Premier League champion for the first time — acting as the flagship club in a worldwide portfolio that soon contained teams across multiple continents.
First came New York City in 2013, then Melbourne City in Australia’s A-League, Girona in Spain, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Sichuan Jiuniu FC in China, Club Atletico Torque in Uruguay and Mumbai City in India joined the group, which also had a “collaboration agreement” with Venezuelan team Atletico Venezuela.
CFG bought into Girona in 2017 weeks after it was promoted to Spain’s top flight for the first time. Pere Guardiola bought a stake that is now 16%.
In recent years, CFG has acquired stakes in European clubs Lommel in Belgium, Palermo in Italy and Troyes.
CFG's stable of clubs is one of the most extensive multi-club groups in a growing global trend that UEFA itself has cautioned poses risks to the soccer industry. Critics say it can enable collusion in games and the transfer market and help top-tier clubs distribute and disguise their costs to help comply with financial monitoring rules.
AP Sports Writers Steve Douglas and Joseph Wilson contributed.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Girona's Portu celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Girona and Barcelona, at the Montilivi stadium in Girona, Spain, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola talks to Manchester City's Matheus Nunes during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester City's Erling Haaland, centre, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Barcelona's Jules Kounde, left, heads the ball ahead of Girona's Savio during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Girona and Barcelona, at the Montilivi stadium in Girona, Spain, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Girona players celebrate after Girona's Artem Dovbyk scored his side's opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Girona and Barcelona, at the Montilivi stadium in Girona, Spain, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Abu Dhabi owners of Man City and Girona given options to meet Champions League entry rules
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola waits for the start of the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Manchester City at the Craven Cottage Stadium in London, Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Abu Dhabi owners of Man City and Girona given options to meet Champions League entry rules
