Mick Wallace
is Irish. Since 2019 he has represented the left in the European Parliament, where this Thursday he was once again the center of attention for his fanaticism for the ball. Bearded and dressed in garnet red, he brought out a
football version of the "class struggle":
48 hours before the Turin classic, he wished luck to his proletarian Torino and told Juventus, the aristocratic
Vecchia Signora,
to "shit" .
Wallace is a character in the European Parliament. He stands out for his white hair, a pendant in his left ear, a thick beard and a relaxed style. And also because of his ideas: he usually condemns United States imperialism, criticized Israel for the war in Gaza and even questioned the government of Mauricio Macri. But if football is a religion, for him - contrary to what orthodox Marxism maintains - the ball is not the opium of the people.
"Juventus shit, let's go Toro!"
, Wallace said, dressed in the maroon Torino shirt, the poor and unfortunate neighbor of a city governed sportingly by the multi-champion Juventus.
It happened during a plenary session of the Parliament of the old continent, although afterwards the images spread quickly through social networks. He himself was in charge of replicating the video, in which he addresses the authorities with a characteristic Italian expression.
"In bocca al lupo al Toro sabato against Juve. Juve merda, Forza Toro"
. At first, an expression of wish and good luck for his Torino, who face each other on Saturday in the Italian League. The rest does not need translation.
"Playing against Juventus is always a difficult match for those who do not have Juve's money, but those from Torino always have hope. Always," wrote the most Italian of the Irish MEPs on his X account, a fan of the maroon for his sister Mary.
Although the marriage between sport and politics has its detractors, the vows between the two are continually renewed. Whether because of the incursion of power into the boxes of the large stadiums or because of its "scenes out of context", like this one that Wallace drew on a tile in the European Parliament. And it wasn't the first.
"Him again," the newspaper
La Stampa
wrote in 2019
when presenting an interview after a session in which he also wore the Torino colors on his bench 221, the Gue seat at the Brussels headquarters.
That October 12, Wallace,
55 years old, father of four
and former parliamentarian in his country, explained in an interview his love for Torino.
"Because it's a beautiful shirt," he said with a laugh before a journalist and a camera five years ago. "I have been a Torino fan for many years, I am a Torino subscriber and I am passionate about football. I have directed football for many years in Ireland, I am very involved there, but I
always found Torino different, an incredible club
," he said before fall into the inevitable comparison with its archrival.
Far from the Italian elegance and glamour, he said that he is going to the
Marathon
, the "curve" of the "Toro" fans.
"It's a great place to be. It's one of the most beautiful experiences in life to be there. I feel very comfortable there. I like the atmosphere. It's not just about football,
there's something different with Torino, socially, I fit in very well. well there
. I am from the left and on the 'curve' many people share my philosophy and my political ideas and obviously do not have the money that Juventus has," he said about his fine harmony with the club that knew how to have glory until collided with the Basilica of Superga.
"I was at the Juventus stadium, but it is not the same and I do not feel comfortable there. The atmospheres are very different," he once again showed the differences with the Agnelli club, the owners of Fiat.
But his sympathy also has personal roots:
he is not the first Turin native in his family
. "My sister Mary moved to (the town of) San Mauro Torinese in 1985 for work reasons. I have followed many games and seen many stadiums in Italy, but nothing compares with the
Granata
. It is a special club," he explained about the when and where of their romance.
There was already a first burst of love, similar to this week. In March 2021, he celebrated "Toro's" comeback against Sassuolo in the parliamentary chamber: "We Irish are always on the side of the underdog and the fact that Granata
won
today,
on St. Patrick's Day
, makes me make happy".
Always stay with you 🔥🐂 pic.twitter.com/g3nCvTRYri
— Torino Football Club (@TorinoFC_1906) April 10, 2024
Wallace knows that it is almost utopian to see his team champion, but each Turin derby can be a setback for another team, and not the Vecchia Signora, to stay with Serie A. "It would be nice to help another team become champion and have them Juve is not," he said about the scope of an eventual victory.
Torino sails through the middle of the table, perhaps little for a giant but enough for the club of three decades without trophies. The match on date 32, which will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Argentine time), ignites the fans, who in the last few hours accompanied the team in training with breath and colored smoke. Qualifying for a European cup would be almost like a championship.
"Toro" celebrated winning the Italian Cup for the last time in 1993 and has not won the local league since the 1975/76 season.
On social media, Wallace's encouragement went unanswered. Maybe this weekend at the Olympic Stadium in Turin, the communal field that is not that "Delle Alpi" in which Maradona and Caniggia eliminated Brazil in 1990 and then became the Juventus Stadium, the home of the powerful of the city.
Ukraine, Gaza, the Scaloneta and criticism of Mauricio Macri: the world according to Wallace
Wallace, a football fan, is not enough with Torino. In that December 2022 that he dedicated to the Scaloneta in Qatar, the Irishman showed his sympathy for the Argentine National Team and for Lionel Messi.
"Viva Argentina," he posted on X on December 26, 2022, eight days after the electrifying victory against France. In that post she added a photo of a couple dancing tango. On the 18th he had already expressed his joy at the consecration of the National Team:
"The people of Argentina deserve some happiness."
Long live #Argentina... https://t.co/tn7zIQHH72
— Mick Wallace (@wallacemick) December 26, 2022
The phrase accompanied a video of the historic and massive celebrations in Buenos Aires. He did not stop there: in January 2023 he echoed the Inter fans' tribute to Lautaro Martínez, one of the 26 heroes of the Middle East.
Politics also plays a role. In August 2019, Wallace criticized Barack Obama, former president of the United States. But he did it not only because of his time in Washington and his national politics, but he pointed it out for having praised Mauricio Macri.
"It says a lot about Obama that he lavished praise on Argentina's right-wing leader, Macri, who put the financial interests of a few before the interests of the people of Argentina..." wrote the MEP.
Says so much about #Obama that he lavished praise on #Argentina's Right Wing leader Macri who put the financial interests of the few ahead of the interests of the people of Argentina... https://t.co/UwexlqF0r0
— Mick Wallace (@wallacemick) August 12, 2019
The IMF was another target of Wallace's criticism, when under the management of Christine Lagarde it supported the Cambiemos government.
"Lagarde did not cover herself with glory with her ridiculous support for Macri's neoliberal policies in Argentina, for which she will not have to be held accountable," he said on October 28, 2019, hours after Alberto Fernández's victory in the first round.
.@Lagarde didn't cover herself in glory with her ridiculous support for Macri's Neoliberal policies in #Argentina, for which she will not be held to account - As new head of ECB, she may serve Big Business well, but her appointment has to be worrying for the people of Europe... https://t.co/PE6DFnwotl
— Mick Wallace (@wallacemick) October 28, 2019
During his participation in the European Parliament, the Irishman also criticized Europe for supporting what he called Israel's "genocide" in Gaza after the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7.
"Support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza has exposed the so-called values of the European Union: the true values of the EU political class are racism and greed..." he said in April this year.
He praised China, repudiated the "14 billion dollars from the United States for the war and assured that Europe "is unfortunately subordinated to the American empire."
However, at least once he aligned himself with NATO and Washington. In February, he called for a resolution "on the need for unwavering support for Ukraine after two years of Russia's war of aggression," according to the European Parliament's official website.