New Sunderland Coach Responds To Criticism

[Folami David]

Italian Paolo Di Canio, whose appointment as Sunderland manager sparked the resignation of a former Government minister from the club's board, said on Monday he was hurt by unfair accusations against him.
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Despite previously working as the manager of League One (third tier) club Swindon Town and playing in both England and Scotland during a long playing career, news of his appointment rekindled interest in the remarks he made to Italian news agency ANSA in 2005 when he said: "I am a fascist, not a racist."
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The former Labour Government foreign secretary David Miliband immediately resigned as Sunderland's vice-chairman and non-executive director after Di Canio was named Martin O'Neill's successor on Sunday night.
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Miliband cited the Italian's "past political statements" as his reason for leaving the board.
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Di Canio, 44, was named as manager of the struggling Premier League club after the surprise dismissal of O'Neill on Saturday with Sunderland hovering just above the relegation zone without a win in their last eight matches.
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On Monday Di Canio issued a statement on Sunderland's website (www.safc.com) refuting the allegations made against him.
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"Something can happen many years ago but what counts is the facts," he said.
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"My life speaks for me. Of course it hurts me because people try to take your dignity and that is not fair.
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"I believe in my pillars and I have values. What offends me more than anything is not because they touch me; they touch what my parents gave to me; the values they gave to me. This is not acceptable.
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"What I can say is that if someone is hurt, I am sorry. But this didn't come from me, it came from a big story that people put out in a different way to what it was."