(JTA) — David Miliband, Britain’s former foreign secretary, resigned from the board of an English soccer club after the team appointed a self-described fascist coach.
Miliband resigned Sunday as the vice chairman of the Sunderland team following the hiring of Italy’s Paolo Di Canio, an admirer of the late fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Di Canio gave a Nazi-style salute at a game in Rome.
“I wish Sunderland AFC all success in the future,” Miliband said. “However, in the light of the new manager’s past political statements, I think it right to step down.”
Miliband left politics in March to take a job in New York as head of the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian aid organization, Reuters reported. His brother, Ed, is head of Britain’s Labor Party and in line to be the next prime minister. The Miliband brothers are the sons of Polish Jewish immigrants.
