AC Milan secured a superb 3-0 derby victory against Inter at the San Siro on Sunday night, but before the kick-off a rather strange ceremony took place involving the two captains, a man in a white coat and an olive tree.
At the side of the pitch, Milan captain Riccardo Montolivo and his opposite number Juan Jesus both poured soil around the base of an olive tree, with both players guided by man kitted out in a white coat…
Bizarre start to Milan derby! @Inter and @acmilan unite in the most unusual of fashions ahead of kick off. #BTEFS https://t.co/T4As6XoLzO
— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) January 31, 2016
As bizarre as the ceremony looked (and it did!), it was actually in aid of promoting world peace and was organised bu Scholas, the organisation founded by Pope Francis which aims to promote integration and peace through sport, art and technology. So it was all rather apt that one of the player’s involved is called Jesus.
Indeed, the olive tree itself was originally given to the captains of Italy and Argentina, Gigi Buffon and Leo Messi by the Pope back in August 2013 in Rome before their international clash. So that explains it!