«I fight the idea of ​​doing strange things»- Corriere.it

“I’m struggling with the idea of ​​doing strange things, trying to think about the fact that I have a nephew, a wife, children, a father and a mother.” Gabriel Omar Batistuta he can’t hold back the tears and, in an interview-outburst to the microphones of Radio La Redbursts into tears in front of the accusations that in the last few hours have been thrown against him by the union of agricultural workers (Uatre), according to which the “Lion King” – the best scorer in the history of Argentina behind only Messi, heaps of goals with Fiorentina and a Scudetto with Roma – allegedly kept the employees working on his land holdings in Reconquista in inhumane conditions: “Yes it is true, there was an inspection – he explained – but the report that the unions have released is completely false”. So those first words (“I’m fighting against the idea of ​​doing strange things”) that worried everyone at home a bit: “I’m sad. I’m shaking. I woke up one morning and found myself in the headlines as an employee abuser. I who was a worker…”

The photos on Twitter: “What damage these accusations”

Batistuta also posted photos of the 35 houses reserved for rural personnel and workers’ families on his Twitter profile: “We build one house a year – we read – we have invested in schools and photovoltaic systems. We respect union agreements, we have an occupational doctor and a graduate in safety and hygiene to check the conditions of the entire plant. Is all this, I wonder, a violation?’ On the radio however, always with a broken voice, he expressed his pain at seeing his parents affected by these accusations: «My father is one of the few who can afford to buy something by paying later. This is because he enjoys respect and trust from everyone in the fields. These accusations are a terrible damage for us ».

Anger against politicians

The former striker therefore recalled his peasant origins: «I invested in a very difficult moment for the country. I was born here, they taught me the anthem and to respect the values. This is where I was born and where I want to die. I do not accept being forced to leave. I put a lot of money into the field. It’s a sector I know, above all my father knows it, who is my partner and who taught me to respect everyone in the world, helping people who work and giving them the opportunity for a better future. It is indisputable that there is someone who treats me cruelly. Politicians claim I own 140,000 hectares of fields? Let them speak as well but without blushing, please. They speak out of lack of courage and out of ignorance.”

Speaking of politics, the Uatre union – the one that accused Batistuta in fact – has often been talked about: the secretary was recently re-elected despite allegations of corruption for personalistic management of funds. Two months before the congress, a hit man hired by a narcos group killed the driver of the main rival at the helm of the union, Pablo Ansaloni, in cold blood, who then sided with him. In short, Argentine unions are often managed with mafia methods and Batistuta, according to his supporters, is only the latest excellent victim.