Baggio injured in burglary, Danes refuse pay rise
ITALY’s 1993 Ballon d’Or winner Roberto Baggio had a head wound stitched after being struck during a burglary as he watched Euro 2024 at home with his family, Italian media reported yesterday.
The 57-year-old was watching defending champions Italy’s 1-0 defeat by Spain in Germany on television on Thursday night when five armed individuals broke into his home near Vicenza in north-eastern Italy.
Baggio – known as the “Divine Ponytail” in his prime – tried to stop the robbery, but one of the intruders struck him on the forehead with the butt of a gun.
He and his family were then locked in a room while the burglars searched the villa for money and jewellery.
According to Corriere della Sera, the burglary lasted around 40 minutes. When Baggio was certain the burglars had left, he broke down the door and called the police. He was taken to hospital and had stitches to his head.
Capped 56 times, Baggio played for Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan, winning two Serie A titles and the Uefa Cup in 1993.
He also played a pivotal role in Italy’s run to the 1994 World Cup final. However, his missed penalty in the final with Brazil cost the Azzurri the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s male footballers have refused a salary increase for playing for the national side in order for their female counterparts to receive equal basic pay, the players’ union said yesterday. “The men’s team chose not to ask for a salary increase ... to improve the conditions of the women’s team,” union spokesperson Magnus Hviid said.
He welcomed “an extraordinary measure to help take this small step in the right direction”, but acknowledged there were “still more glass ceilings to break to ensure equal opportunities and conditions within national teams”.
Hviid said the action “obtained the same basic salary for the women’s national team and the men’s national team, as well as better insurance coverage for the women’s team”.
The agreement provides for identical match bonuses for women and men
during away matches.
However, for the moment, due to no bonus for home matches, there remains a disparity in the overall pay between the women’s and men’s national teams.
The Danish football federation and the union have agreed to negotiate on a new deal for the women’s national team after the summer break.
Denmark are competing in Euro 2024 and are joint second in Group C after two draws, against Slovenia and England. |