Former Super Bowl winner Luke Wilson blasted Canada Soccer after a jersey exchange campaign involving Italy sparked outrage. He called the move classless and questioned the decision-makers for essentially kicking a nation when it was down.
Italy failed to reach the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive tournament after losing to Bosnia and Herzegovina on penalties. There was plenty of significant attention on the matchup, as the winner would play Canada in Toronto for its Group B opener.
Many were excited for the possibility of a Canada vs. Italy matchup. Given the large Italian community in Toronto and across Canada, it could have had a positive economic impact.
Wilson, an Italian-Canadian, voiced frustration with the move after Canada Soccer offered Italian supporters a free exchange for their jerseys. Their goal was to build support for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
While the promotion was framed as a jersey swap, attendees received a free Canada jersey instead. Although they kept their Italian jerseys, the former Seattle Seahawks tight end felt the campaign was in poor taste.
Luke Wilson Calls Canada Soccer Jersey Exchange Offer Classless
Luke Wilson did not hold back when sharing his feelings on Canada Soccer’s attempt to gain support from the Italian community. Wilson, who currently works as an analyst for TSN, even shifted claimed his own outlet helped push the narrative.
During an episode of his on Film Never Lies podcast, Wilson called the move classless across the board.
“I gotta take a stance on this. You wanna talk about just a classless move across the board,” Wilson said. “This is where I get jammed up, right? Again, you think of Italy, you think of soccer. And I think of my grandparents, a lot of people here that love the Italian national soccer team.
He added:
“When we lost in hockey in the gold medal game, especially to the United States, it was detrimental,” he said. “Imagine we don’t even qualify for the Olympics. Like, Italy is down bad right now and what does Canada Soccer do? I was flat out embarrassed. TSN was pumping it everywhere.”
Wilson Claims Canada Soccer Backtracked After a Negative Response
Wilson also claimed that Canada Soccer backtracked after receiving a negative response from Italian supporters. He believes the promotion backfiring resulted in them making an excuse.
“At first I thought it was like let’s see if we could get rich quick here,” he said on his Film Never Lies podcast. “And then they’re trying to backtrack, ‘We didn’t actually swap them out.’ Get out of here, that’s trash. Tell me I’m wrong.”
When asked which team he would support if Canada played Italy, Wilson answered with humor. He would appease whoever he was with, but made it clear Canada would ultimately have his support.
“Yes, absolutely [all Italian-Canadians should support Canada at the World Cup]. But that doesn’t mean you trade your jersey in,” he said. “[Who would I have supported?] It depends on who I’m talking to. [But if it was Canada against Italy,] I would have supported Canada.”
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