Ex-foreign secretary David Miliband has resigned from the board of Sunderland football club over new head coach Paolo Di Canio's "past political statements".
Mr Di Canio has previously described himself as "a fascist, not a racist".
Mr Miliband had been serving as the club's vice-chairman and as a non-executive director.
He said he wished the club "all success in the future. It is a great institution that does a huge amount for the North East".
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said Mr Miliband's decision to stand down was entirely to do with Mr Di Canio's appointment and nothing to do with his forthcoming move to New York to work for a charity .
Mr Di Canio was pictured in 2005 making a raised-arm salute to a group of supporters of Italian club Lazio, where he was playing.
He was given a one-match ban and fined £7,000 for the incident, and was also banned for a match following a similar incident earlier in 2005.
End Quote Jeremy Wray Former Swindon Town chairman"Paolo had many strong views... but I doubt it's relevant to keeping Sunderland in the Premiership."
In 2011, when Mr Di Canio was appointed as Swindon Town's manager, the GMB union withdrew its sponsorship of the club, citing his political views.
Mr Di Canio scored 48 goals in 118 appearances for West Ham after joining the London club for £1.7m from Sheffield Wednesday in 1999. He began his career at Lazio, and also played for Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan, Celtic and Charlton before later returning to Lazio.
Playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 1998, he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground after being sent off and was banned for 11 matches.
'Not a racist'Mr Miliband joined the Sunderland board in February 2011, retiring from frontline politics after losing the Labour leadership race to his brother Ed.
He had already said recently that he was quitting as Labour MP for South Shields to take up a role with the International Rescue Committee in New York.
Former Swindon Town chairman Jeremy Wray, who gave Mr Di Canio his first managerial job, described Mr Miliband's resignation as a "kneejerk response".
"I doubt if David Miliband has ever met Paolo Di Canio. I have known him for two years and I don't think politics was discussed once," he said.
"Paolo had many strong views. He probably had views on whether Italy should be in the euro, gay marriage and the endangered Siberian tiger but I doubt it's relevant to keeping Sunderland in the Premiership."
Sports journalist Gabriele Marcotti has written a biography of Mr Di Canio and suggested that the club appointment would always upset some people.
He told BBC 5 Live: "I've known him very well for the last 15 years. There's no question that he's not a racist.
"His record, his friendships, his relationships pretty much speak for themselves.
"As to why Miliband resigned, he's a politician and I can understand why he's concerned about being associated with certain people - especially the way some people are bound to depict Paolo."
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