Tommaso Casalini, a youth coach for a fourth-division Italian football club called Grosseto, ended up being fired after making some rather derogatory remarks about outspoken environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Facebook.
According to SPORTbible, Casalini described Greta as a “wh*re”, adding that “a 16-year-old can take a pounding” and that “she's at the right age.”
After the club announced Casalini’s sacking, stating that he was "not acting in line with the club, who focus on moral values even more than technical values", the ex-coach stepped forward to publicly apologise for his actions.
“It was an outburst written in a moment of anger against the young Swedish activist with absolutely the wrong language and content I regret,” Casalini said as quoted by Football Italia. “I never thought or could never have really thought about certain things, especially a minor. However, when you make a mistake then it’s only right that you take responsibility for your mistakes.”
In response to this development, a number of social media users expressed their disdain with Casalini’s earlier remark.
Imagine talking about killing someone who’s trying to save future generation. Absolute helmet!
— Jack (@Jack_Adamson1) 30 сентября 2019 г.
What is it with old blokes being weird about her?
— Joe Bellerby (@sniff91) 30 сентября 2019 г.
Some of his critics, however, did not seem all that fond of Thunberg as well.
Uncalled for. She is misguided though and being used.
— Peter Ceraulo (@CerauloPeter) 1 октября 2019 г.
Earlier, a French arts executive also got fired after labelling Greta a “madwoman” on social media and expressing hope that “someone unhinged shoots her down.”
Greta Thunberg gained media attention in late 2018 by standing for three weeks before the Swedish Parliament with a sign reading “School strike for climate.”
The 16-year old climate activist then made headlines in September after she arrived at the UN headquarters in New York and delivered an aggressive speech on the effects of climate change on the younger generation.
