A town in northern Italy has banned cricket, a decision made by its mayor, who views the sport and the Bangladeshi immigrants who play it as foreign and “incompatible” with local culture.
According to a report by the BBC, the town of Monfalcone officially banned the sport and has imposed fines of up to €100 on those found playing cricket within its limits. The ban has become a symbol of the broader ethnic tensions in Monfalcone, which is situated near Italy’s Adriatic coast.
The town—with a population of about 30,000—has nearly a third of its residents as foreigners, mainly Bangladeshi Muslims who came in the late 1990s to work at a major shipyard.
Monfalcone’s cultural landscape has been reshaped with Bangladeshi restaurants, halal shops, and a network of cycle paths frequented by the South Asian community.
Mayor Anna Maria Cisint, representing former Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s far-right Lega party, campaigned on an anti-immigration platform and has made efforts to “protect local culture” and “Christian values.”
“Our history is being erased,” she told the BBC, lamenting the changes she believes are negatively impacting the town.
Miah Bappy, a Bangladeshi migrant worker at Italy’s largest shipyard, Fincantieri, told the BBC that he and his fellow countrymen are forced to play cricket on the outskirts of the city.
Bappy explained that playing within Monfalcone attracted immediate police intervention. He cited a recent incident where Bengali teens were fined after being caught on security cameras while playing in a local park.
But the cricket ban is merely the tip of the iceberg, reflecting a wider anti-immigrant crackdown spearheaded by the mayor.
During her two terms, Cisint has removed benches from the town square and criticised the attire of Muslim women at the beach.
Tensions escalated when Cisint reportedly banned collective prayer at the town’s two Islamic centres, citing urban planning issues. She also accused the Bangladeshi community of fostering “Islamic fundamentalism.”
On the cricket ban, Cisint told the BBC that the Bangladeshi community has contributed nothing to the city and should play elsewhere.
She argued that there is neither space nor funds to build a cricket pitch and cites safety concerns over cricket balls.
“They’ve given nothing to this city, to our community. Zero.”
“They are free to go and play cricket anywhere else…outside of Monfalcone,” she told the BBC.
The mayor is also facing death threats due to her views on Muslims and has been under 24-hour police protection.
Meanwhile, Cisint has accused Fincantieri of wage dumping, paying below market rates, but Cristiano Bazzara, the shipyard director, asserts that wages comply with Italian law.
“We are not able to find trained workers. In Europe, it’s very difficult to find young people who want to work in a shipyard,” Bazzara told the BBC.
Notably, Italy faces significant labour shortages and has one of Europe’s lowest birth rates, necessitating a continued influx of foreign workers.
The country is projected to need 280,000 foreign workers annually until 2050 to address the shrinking workforce.
This has prompted Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to increase work permits for non-EU nationals despite running on an anti-immigration platform.
Bangladeshi residents, such as 19-year-old Meheli, feel targeted by the mayor’s actions and report harassment due to their heritage.
“The mayor thinks that Bengalis are trying to Islamify Italy—but we are just minding our own business,” Meheli told the BBC, adding, “I’m going to leave this town as soon as I can.”
Meanwhile, Miah Bappy is reportedly expecting his Italian passport soon. However, he is uncertain about remaining in Monfalcone. “We don’t cause any trouble. We pay taxes…But they don’t want us here,” he told the BBC.
Notably, a recent regional court ruling favoured the Islamic centres, overturning the mayor’s ban on collective prayer.
Despite this, Cisint, now elected to the European Parliament, plans to continue her campaign against what she terms “the Islamisation of Europe” from Brussels.
