A northern Italian town bans cricket
Politically opportunistic xenophobia at work
Cricket, you might think, is among the more benign legacies of British imperialism—a sport that unites blazer-wearing English toffs and players who first applied bat to ball in the slums of Kingston or Kolkata. But in Monfalcone, a town in north-eastern Italy, cricket has become a political football. (Sorry.)
Explore more
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “No ball”
More from Europe
Can the good ship Europe weather the Trumpnado?
Tossed by political storms, the continent must dodge a new threat
Spain’s proposed house tax on foreigners will not fix its shortage
Pedro Sánchez will need the opposition’s help to increase supply
A French-sponsored Ukrainian army brigade has been badly botched
The scandal reveals serious weaknesses in Ukraine’s military command
A TV dramatisation of Mussolini’s life inflames Italy
With Giorgia Meloni in power, the fascist past is more relevant than ever
France’s new prime minister is trying to court the left
François Bayrou gambles with Emmanuel Macron’s economic legacy
How the AfD got its swagger back
Germany’s hard-right party is gaining support even as it radicalises