Andrew Sun

Mouthing Off | Stop pineapple on pizza fights. Chinese don’t bemoan ‘fusion’ food so why should Italians?

Hongkongers used the classic debate to rile Italians after complaints over Cheung Ka-long’s Olympic gold, but it’s not worth anyone’s energy

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The classic pineapple on pizza debate reared its ugly head again after Hong Kong sports fans taunted Italians following complaints over Cheung Ka-long’s gold medal match victory over Filippo Macchi at the 2024 Olympics. Photo: Shutterstock

Andrew Sun

Published: 7:45am, 14 Aug 2024

Hong Kong fencer Cheung Ka-long won his 2024 Olympic gold medal after a dramatic, exciting final. The close match against an Italian opponent required video reviews, with Cheung eventually edging the match with a score of 15-14.

The Italians were naturally disappointed. An official complaint was lodged about some of the refereeing. Worse, armchair critics bemoaned it had to be biased because the judges were also from East Asia (Taiwan and South Korea).

Those comments were ignorant, but maybe understandable. Previously in Italy, I have seen restaurants that say they serve “Korean/Chinese” food. If you did not know better, you might assume it is kind of the same thing.

Against the griping, Hong Kong fans posted themselves enjoying pineapple pizza to celebrate the victory. Of course, nothing irritates the pizzaiolos of Naples more than putting juicy rings of fruit on a pie.

Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long (right) competes with Italy’s Filippo Macchi in the men’s individual foil final at the 2024 Olympics, on July 29, 2024. Photo: AP

Most of my open-minded Italian friends rolled their eyes at this storm in a teacup, but there are those who still fume at pineapple as a pizza topping. To them, I say: it is time you get over it. The outrage is not worth your energy or the stress.

Italy’s delicious flat bread has done much for mankind and forms a significant part of world culinary history. The fact that pizza is popular everywhere is a tribute to its ingenious influence.