Squad numbers have a habit of causing problems. West Ham's Paulo Futre once stormed out of Highbury into a taxi after refusing to wear No16 and later paid £100,000 to get his favourite No10. But even that looks tame compared with the fuss Gianluigi Buffon has caused with his choice of shirt at Parma.

The goalkeeper's decision to wear 88 caused consternation among Italy's Jewish community, which pointed out that the figure is a neo-Nazi symbol. "H" is the eighth letter of the alphabet, so 88 equates to HH, or Heil Hitler.

Buffon has previously worn a shirt bearing the slogan "Boia chi molla" - "Death to cowards" - which was used by fascists in Benito Mussolini's day. But he called a press conference yesterday to explain that people had the wrong impression. After his mother had said her son's accusers "should be ashamed of thinking such things", that is.

"I have chosen 88 because it reminds me of four balls and in Italy we all know what it means to have balls: strength and determination," he said. "And this season I will have to have balls to get back my place in the Italy team."

The plot, though, thickens. "At first I didn't choose 88," he explained. "I wanted 00 but the league told me that was impossible. I also considered 01 but that was not considered a proper number. I liked 01 because it was the number on the General Lee car in the TV series the Dukes of Hazzard."

Buffon, who said the Holocaust disgusted him and the "Nazi slur" had hurt him, added that he was willing to heed a call from the Jewish community, which asked him to switch shirts "out of respect for Jews, tziganes [gyspies] and homosexuals".

"I am ready to change numbers if that will help," he explained. "I didn't know the hidden meaning of 88."

Apparently that "Boia chi molla" episode was all an innocent error as well. "When I wore that shirt I was stupid because I did not know it was a phrase used by the fascist regime," said Buffon. The 22-year-old, who missed Euro 2000 after breaking his hand in a friendly and has since lost his place to Francesco Toldo, found others willing to put his case.

"We are honest people," said his mother. The African foundation for medicine and research added: "He gave us money to build two wells in Kenya." Meanwhile Parma's director of football, Michele Uva, remarked: "The Jewish community should deal with more serious matters."

Lazio's Claudio Lopez scored twice against Internazionale in Italy's Super Cup final last night when the Serie A winners completed a 4-3 win despite going behind after three minutes when Robbie Keane scored with a neat lob.