India, Nov. 11 -- The firing of an Italian chef, Davide Tamburella, for refusing to make a pineapple pizza has reignited the age-old debate over whether the fruit belongs on the dish, stirring reactions worldwide. Tamburella, who worked at the now-closed La Costa restaurant in Brisbane, Australia, was sacked after refusing to make a ham-and-pineapple pizza for a group of guests. During a recent meeting, he stood his ground, stating that any direction from management "need not be followed when it is offensive to my culture." The irony in all this? The infamous 'Hawaiian pizza' originated neither in Italy nor Hawaii. It is believed to have been created in 1962 in Canada by a Greek-born chef named Sam Panopoulos, who added canned pineapple to a pizza after being inspired by sweet-and-sour Chinese dishes. Tamburella's stand fuelled the long-running debate on social media. On November 9, Domino's Australia posted on Instagram, "We can confirm that pineapple still belongs in our kitchens... Our thoughts with Italy during this difficult time," and social media users were quick to pick sides. "Pineapple on pizza is a hate crime," declared one user. "Bro took one for the whole nation of Italy. Give this man a medal!" commented Tamburella's supporter. "If warm fruit on baked dough is wrong, I don't ever wanna be right. Team Hawaiian forever!" argued a defender. HTC...