This Italian Town Bans Cricket; Mayor Imposes Fines Up To ₹9,325

An Italian town, Monfalcone has banned playing cricket within the town limit and has imposed fines of up to €100 for those violating the rules. The ban is a part of an anti-immigrant crackdown.

Monfalcone (Italy):A town in Northern Italy has come up with a bizarre phenomenon as they have banned playing cricket within the town limits according to a report published by BBC. Those found playing cricket within the town limits will be fined an amount up to €100. The decision is taken by the mayor of the town, who considers the sport and the Bangladeshi immigrants playing it in the country as foreign and "incompatible" with local culture.

A town with a population of around 30,000

Monfalcone is a town with a population of about 30,000 and around one-third of the residents are foreigners. Mainly, the population comprised Bangladeshi Muslims who arrived in the town in the late 1990s to work at a major shipyard.

The culture of the town has been reshaped by the major population of foreigners in the country.

Threat to cultural values

Mayor Anna Maria Cisint is known for her fierce stance against Bangladeshi immigrants and feels that the history of the town is being erased slowly.

"Our history is being erased," she told the BBC

The Italian Mayor further remarked that these people haven’t given anything to the community and they are free to play cricket outside the town.

“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 publication.

The mayor is currently facing death threats due to her views on Muslims and has been under 24-hour police protection.