Juventus FC at White House: Transgender Sports Debate

Italian football behemoth Juventus FC happened to be involved in an ugly political debate when they attended the official visit to the White House on Wednesday during an interrogation of President Donald Trump, which focused on inquiries regarding transgender sports representation in female sports for the visiting team.

The group of players led by the president of Italy, the Bianconeri party comprising American internationals, Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie, had visited the presidential residence to take part in the FIFA Club World Cup event. Trump, who started with a businesslike-type visit, soon turned things uncomfortably as he sought the views of the Juventus players about his new sports policies for transgender people.

It came days after his executive orders banning transgender people from being allowed to join women’s sporting activities, and President Uhuru Kenyatta directly challenged the Juventus team assembled in front of him with taunting words on whether qualification to be part of a team was based on winning or losing. The representatives of the Italian club were walking a fine political line and keeping poise in diplomacy at the same time.

Juventus Management Attempts Diplomatic Response

The Juventus players, when challenged to go on record on whether they could have female professional footballers contest with the male players, left the very diplomatic option of keeping quiet and kept smiling as they did so too nervously. The explicit silence afterwards made Trump repeat a question, which led to an intervention of Juventus General Manager, Francesc Antich, with a perfectly timed deflectional phrase.

Antich spoke about the success of the women’s team of the club, Juventus Women, which is the Premier League champion. His political style was to go around the political debate on transgender athletes by moving the discussion to the current dedication of the club to women’s football.

The restrained reaction of the Juventus management illustrates quite a difficult situation in which the international sports organization finds itself when dealing with domestic political matters on an official visit. The tactic applied by the club, by focusing on the performances of their women’s team, was a non-partisan sensational subject, and it did not require any sort of political involvement.

Club World Cup Context Overshadowed by Political Discussion

The real intent of Juventus FC to be in Washington was their following Club World Cup match against Al Ain of the UAE at the Audi Field. The distinguished contest is a huge chance for the club based in Turin to shine their light on the American surface, their team getting ready to face the competitive action in the capital of the country.

The arrangements of the White House visit that saw them visit the United States so close to their most important match practically meant that players and coaching staff did not anticipate critical political debates on matters, but planned routine ceremonial activities. The abrupt twist of fate brought to attention the point of convergence between international sports and the American domestic policy.

The visit was an honor as well as a challenge to Juventus FC, which aimed at retaining the neutrality aspect (diplomatic terms) of its activities and at the same time pursuing its own sporting goals. Another complexity to the matter was the emergence of American players Weah and McKennie, who clung to both the visiting club and host country, therefore, adding even more difficulties to the situation.