Fund-raiser bigger than politics, Strada

P(ANSA) – Florence, April 22 – Political controversies should not sully Italy’s charity soccer match, the Partita Del Cuore (Game of the Heart), the head of a leading medical NGO said Tuesday.BRGino Strada, founder of Emergency, said that if Premier Matteo Renzi is able to play in the match scheduled for May 19, he should be allowed.BR”You’re collecting funds to treat people, and I honestly care little for the rest,” said Strada, whose group founded 20 years ago has treated more than six million patients in war-torn regions around the world.BR”What interests me is the event”.BRControversy recently erupted around rumours that Renzi may participate in the annual match, sponsored by public broadcaster RAI.BRRoberto Fico, a parliamentarian with the maverick 5-Star Movement (M5S) and chairman of a RAI oversight commission, said the match should not be open to politicians during an election campaign period ahead of European parliament elections scheduled for May 25 in Italy.BRThe PD and M5S are both campaigning hard for the EP elections.BRRenzi’s successor at Florence city hall, Dario Nardella, quipped that opponents are “afraid” to meet his former boss on the soccer pitch.BR/P
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