Calcio Debate: Are The Ultras Destroying Our Calcio?
Last Sunday was another dark day in Italian football. Salvatore Landolina argues that the Ultras are exercising too much power and are destroying the beautiful game in Italy…
Scandals, violence and, even worse, innocent people killed. This is the sad state of 21st century Italian football.
Some 500 years ago, peasants, vagabonds, ill-mannered and uneducated, ignorant people began a movement which would evolve into the modern game. It seems like half a millennium later the same people are trying their best to end football, well at least for Italians anyway.
The shooting of a Lazio fan is the latest in a long list of shameful incidents which have plagued the Italian game. The Italian football authorities still try to cover up the mess which has seen Calcio being shunned and laughed upon by the world.
What the Italians have to realise is that World Cup and Champions League victories will not wipe away a tarnished image and replace it with a shiny one. Everyone associated with Calcio - the clubs, the authorities and the fans have to wake up and face the reality.
The president of the Italian F.A, Giancarlo Abete, described the tragic events on Sunday as “nothing to do with the sport.” It’s pig headed arrogance like this which explains why the Italian game will never manage to climb out of the cess pit.
When fans and policemen are killed because of football related violence then it has everything to do with the sport but, of course, Abete will never admit to this. It is because of poor rules and regulations that incidents like this happen.
In April a new list of rules were implemented to help eradicate the “violenza negli stadi.” Apart from the tragic shooting, the world witnessed Atalanta vs Milan being abandoned because the so called Ultras insisted the game should be called off in respect of the fan, Gabriele Sandri, who was killed.
Later in the evening there was chaos in Rome as property was destroyed and scores of vehicles burnt by hundreds of Roma and Lazio fans who wanted to show solidarity with Sandri.
One could argue that this is fair enough but it shows that really the people who have the power in Italian football are the Ultras, and not Mr Abete and the Italian football authorities.
One of the rules stated that clubs should break all ties with the Ultras, and violent fans would be banned from Italian stadiums - however every Sunday around Italy we see Ultras taking part – these are the people who are supposed to be banned from the stadia.
Yes there are people out there who don’t care about the game and are hell bent on causing trouble in grounds around Italy. But one asks the question: why are they still allowed in following decades of violence which continue to affect Calcio?
As we saw on Sunday the Ultras seem to be winning the Calcio battle. Sadly it seems as if they are the ones who have the powers which influence the Italian game, and this isn’t a new thing, it’s been like this for years.
The sad reality is we will never see a trouble-free Calcio while the Ultras continue to dictate how football should be run in Italy.
In the end this will just cause people to stay indoors and watch football on the television. And who can blame them?
Here is a list of people who have died in the past 30 years in Italy due to domestic football violence, mostly involving Ultras:
28. October 1979: Lazio fan Vincenzo Paparelli (33) died during the derby against AS Roma after being hit by a missile fired by a Roma Ultra.
22. March 1982: Roma fan Andrea Vitone (14) died in a train fire after Roma Ultras had set a carriage on fire following a defeat to Bologna.
8. February 1984: After clashes between Udinese and Triestina supporters, Sandro Furlan was arrested and questioned by police. He was released but then fell into a coma and died three weeks later.
30. September 1984: Milan fan Marco Fonghessi died after being stabbed by another Milan supporter. The murderer thought Fonghessi was a Cremonese fan.
7. December 1986: Sambenedettese fan Giuseppe Tomasetti died after being stabbed with a knife.
9. October 1988: Ascoli fan Nazzareno Filippini, 32, died eight days after being attacked by four Inter Ultras.
18. June 1989: Fiorentina Ultras throw a Molotov Cocktail into a car with travelling Bologna supporters. Nobody dies, but a 14-year-old is left with horrific and permanent facial disfigurement.
10. January 1993: A 22-year-old throws himself off a train after being attacked by four Messina Ultras and dies.
29. January 1995: Genoa fan Vincenzo Spagnolo (25) died after being stabbed by a Milan fan outside the Marassi-Stadium. The match was aborted at halftime.
17. June 2001: Messina-Fan Antonio Curro died due to a self-made bomb that exploded during the Sicilian derby against Catania.
20. September 2003: Napoli fan Sergio Ercolano (20) died during clashes in the derby match against Avellino.
27. January 2007: Club-Manager Ermanno Licursi from Sammartinese died during fan clashes. He died trying to divide both fan-groups.
2. February 2007: Policeman Filippo Raciti (38) died after a blunt stone was thrown into his car during the derby between Catania Calcio and US Palermo.
And now 11.November 2007... Lazio-Fan Gabriele Sandri (28) dies.
When is all this violence and murder going to end?
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