Italian tennis ace Jannik Sinner has found himself in another controversy, this time in one that he had little to do about directly. An Italian rapper called Fedez has been lampooned in Italy for his song lyrics that claim that the top-ranked tennis player speaks with “Adolf Hitler’s accent.”
The controversy erupted after the rapper posted an Instagram Story, that featured lyrics of a new song written by him in Italian. The offending lyrics went: “Italian has a new idol named Jannik Sinner. Pure-blooded Italian with Adolf Hitler’s accent.”
When the lyrics came to light, it caused anger in some political circles in Italy. In fact, a city councilman in Bolzano — the capital of the German-speaking autonomous province of Alto Adige in northern Italy where Sinner is from — has now filed a formal complaint with prosecutors citing an article in Italy’s penal code that sanctions incitement of racial hatred and propaganda.
“I felt it my duty to act and hold up the founding values of our constitution. We can’t allow language the evokes racism and hate to be normalized by public figures,” Giuseppe Martucci, the city council member, was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
The agency also quoted Martucci as saying that the reference to “pure-blooded Italian” recalls Italian fascist propaganda from the 1930s. He was also livid at the reference to German dictator Hitler, terming it “unacceptable”.
This is not the first time that Sinner has faced an underlying sentiment that he isn’t fully Italian. Before he won his first Grand Slam title and opted not to play Davis Cup for Italy in September 2023 — saying he hadn’t recovered in time from tournaments in North America — he was widely criticized. “Caso Nazionale” (National Issue), said the front-page of Sportweek, the Gazzetta dello Sport’s weekly magazine, in a headline with a double meaning.
Currently, Sinner is the most popular athlete in Italy, thanks to him winning four Grand Slam titles over the last two years. Even his recent ban for doping offences has not dulled his popularity back in the country.
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When Sinner won his first Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open, he was treated as a national hero on his return home and met with Premier Giorgia Meloni at the Chigi Palace.
Sinner and Meloni posed for photos as they held aloft together first the Australian Open trophy and then the Italian flag. Sinner then gave Meloni a warm embrace to end the meeting.
(With inputs from AP)
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