Violence could halt Italian football/Calcio suspended (23 Viewers)
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A Death In Italian Football Or The Death Of Italian Football?
The tragic facts after the Catania-Palermo derby have demonstrated once again that violence is a deeply rooted phenomenon in Italian football. Nobody will play this weekend – and the Azzurri have cancelled their friendly against Rumania. But is that stop really going to change anything?
Action is needed as soon as possible to tackle a longstanding problem. The football community in Italy should have learned by now, considering what happened in the past, but unfortunately they hardly made any improvement. That’s why there’s little reason to feel optimistic about the future. Luca Manes ponders the effect of the latest tragedy twelve years after a Genoa fan was murdered…
It’s not the first time Italian football has come to a standstill because of a shocking loss of life. There’s a morbid coincidence as championships were halted on February 5th 1995 – exactly twelve years ago – because a Genoa fan, Vincenzo Spagnolo, was stabbed to death by a young Milan supporter a few metres from the Marassi stadium, in Genoa.
The unsettling truth is that almost nothing has changed from 1995. Violence is ever present in all the championships, as we have recently explained in another article, and unfortunately it’s hardly surprising that somebody died because of a football game.
Luca Pancalli was quite right to stop the football circus for a week end, as a mark of respect for the death of officer Filippo Raciti and as an occasion to think over the current state of Italian football.
Pancalli had promised to do so only a week ago after another man was killed after a lower division game as I described recently, much to my shock – yet not much to my surprise – seeing the horror unfold in Serie A.
In all honesty the impression is that after a few days of public indignation and of solemn commitments made by politicians and football authorities, not much will be done. A sad admission, but the past has shown us that shame over death in football has a short half-life.
Maybe this could be the right time to change the system upside down. We doubt it, looking back at past experiences. Why people involved in the world of football are always talking about the 'English Model’, as they call it in Italy, and that model is not copied at all?
We should start building new and efficient stadia and making football clubs more accountable for the behaviour of their fans, which means they must pay for every policeman employed inside the stadium.
Such measure should lead many clubs still keeping alive some dodgy links with the ultras to reconsider their relationship with them. The die hard ultras too often have received free tickets or other “fringe benefits” from their team management.
Actually when this chairmen manage to stop those dangerous liaisons, so called tifosi move on to blackmail their clubs. That’s what is happening with Lazio and Catania.
Etnei (Catania) chairman Pulvirenti cracked down hard on violent supporters after serious incidents marred last September’s game against Messina.
In a way we can affirm that the Catania-Palermo disaster was bound to hit Pulvirenti and the rest of the Catania management in the solar plexus. Their efforts, while well-intentioned, have evidently failed.
What about the government? Should they introduce some new pieces of legislation? Maybe it would be pretty sensible to enforce the existing laws, and so make sure stadia are not some sort of lawless zones.
The Decreto Pisanu, a bylaw imposing some stricter measures on supporters, is quite ineffective. What’s the point on having your name on a football ticket once nobody checks it? We go quite often to the stadium, and it never occurred to us that anybody would question our identity.
The fact that tickets cannot be purchased at the stadium is pretty useless too. Why didn’t they ban away supporters for games like Catania-Palermo instead? That would be a harsh decision, but it could work for a start.
No wonder Italian stadia are emptying. Families don’t go anymore, because on one hand they’re scared of possible violence outbursts, on the other hand they’re appalled by scandals (calciopoli and so on).
So inside the arenas violent supporters can do as the please. Right now normally they don’t even fight against each other, but have a go to the police, as the Catania tragedy has sadly showed. It’s a case of a common enemy uniting opposing 'fans’ who really just want to rumble with anybody.
Most of times everything is planned well in advance, and many ultras are not shy to bringing with them knives, firecrackers and iron bars. Going back to what happened on Friday night, watching the pictures on telly we can spot a couple of supporters wearing ski masks.
As in Sicily winter is very mild, nobody would use a ski mask to keep warm. They had it just to disguise their faces, and that’s another evidence of their criminal intention to cause havoc.
What will happen next? In a couple of weeks time players will be on the pitch again – TV contracts have to be honoured – and maybe ultras will decide to keep it quiet for a bit.
At this stage we don’t think we are being provocative to call for a Serie A indefinite suspension and for Italy to withdraw its bid for Euro 2012. That would be quite a strong message and will allow more time to try to solve the problem once and for all.
To be honest Pancalli’s stop is indefinite, but we bet next week the show will go on. Hopefully we’ll be wrong…
Luca Manes
The tragic facts after the Catania-Palermo derby have demonstrated once again that violence is a deeply rooted phenomenon in Italian football. Nobody will play this weekend – and the Azzurri have cancelled their friendly against Rumania. But is that stop really going to change anything?
Action is needed as soon as possible to tackle a longstanding problem. The football community in Italy should have learned by now, considering what happened in the past, but unfortunately they hardly made any improvement. That’s why there’s little reason to feel optimistic about the future. Luca Manes ponders the effect of the latest tragedy twelve years after a Genoa fan was murdered…
It’s not the first time Italian football has come to a standstill because of a shocking loss of life. There’s a morbid coincidence as championships were halted on February 5th 1995 – exactly twelve years ago – because a Genoa fan, Vincenzo Spagnolo, was stabbed to death by a young Milan supporter a few metres from the Marassi stadium, in Genoa.
The unsettling truth is that almost nothing has changed from 1995. Violence is ever present in all the championships, as we have recently explained in another article, and unfortunately it’s hardly surprising that somebody died because of a football game.
Luca Pancalli was quite right to stop the football circus for a week end, as a mark of respect for the death of officer Filippo Raciti and as an occasion to think over the current state of Italian football.
Pancalli had promised to do so only a week ago after another man was killed after a lower division game as I described recently, much to my shock – yet not much to my surprise – seeing the horror unfold in Serie A.
In all honesty the impression is that after a few days of public indignation and of solemn commitments made by politicians and football authorities, not much will be done. A sad admission, but the past has shown us that shame over death in football has a short half-life.
Maybe this could be the right time to change the system upside down. We doubt it, looking back at past experiences. Why people involved in the world of football are always talking about the 'English Model’, as they call it in Italy, and that model is not copied at all?
We should start building new and efficient stadia and making football clubs more accountable for the behaviour of their fans, which means they must pay for every policeman employed inside the stadium.
Such measure should lead many clubs still keeping alive some dodgy links with the ultras to reconsider their relationship with them. The die hard ultras too often have received free tickets or other “fringe benefits” from their team management.
Actually when this chairmen manage to stop those dangerous liaisons, so called tifosi move on to blackmail their clubs. That’s what is happening with Lazio and Catania.
Etnei (Catania) chairman Pulvirenti cracked down hard on violent supporters after serious incidents marred last September’s game against Messina.
In a way we can affirm that the Catania-Palermo disaster was bound to hit Pulvirenti and the rest of the Catania management in the solar plexus. Their efforts, while well-intentioned, have evidently failed.
What about the government? Should they introduce some new pieces of legislation? Maybe it would be pretty sensible to enforce the existing laws, and so make sure stadia are not some sort of lawless zones.
The Decreto Pisanu, a bylaw imposing some stricter measures on supporters, is quite ineffective. What’s the point on having your name on a football ticket once nobody checks it? We go quite often to the stadium, and it never occurred to us that anybody would question our identity.
The fact that tickets cannot be purchased at the stadium is pretty useless too. Why didn’t they ban away supporters for games like Catania-Palermo instead? That would be a harsh decision, but it could work for a start.
No wonder Italian stadia are emptying. Families don’t go anymore, because on one hand they’re scared of possible violence outbursts, on the other hand they’re appalled by scandals (calciopoli and so on).
So inside the arenas violent supporters can do as the please. Right now normally they don’t even fight against each other, but have a go to the police, as the Catania tragedy has sadly showed. It’s a case of a common enemy uniting opposing 'fans’ who really just want to rumble with anybody.
Most of times everything is planned well in advance, and many ultras are not shy to bringing with them knives, firecrackers and iron bars. Going back to what happened on Friday night, watching the pictures on telly we can spot a couple of supporters wearing ski masks.
As in Sicily winter is very mild, nobody would use a ski mask to keep warm. They had it just to disguise their faces, and that’s another evidence of their criminal intention to cause havoc.
What will happen next? In a couple of weeks time players will be on the pitch again – TV contracts have to be honoured – and maybe ultras will decide to keep it quiet for a bit.
At this stage we don’t think we are being provocative to call for a Serie A indefinite suspension and for Italy to withdraw its bid for Euro 2012. That would be quite a strong message and will allow more time to try to solve the problem once and for all.
To be honest Pancalli’s stop is indefinite, but we bet next week the show will go on. Hopefully we’ll be wrong…
Luca Manes
i honestly believe this season is finished. italians need to learn lessons i am afraid. strict rules need to be enforced on supporters and ultras or else this poor policeman who lost his life wont be the last victim of uncilivlized supporters.
to be clear this incident regardless of who is to blame for just indicates that problems dont just lie in the italian soccer federation it has spread to the supporters of the teams.
i will explain from a personal experience why supporters need to be taught proper sportsman ship and better control of emotions even if sometimes these rules are enforved or may sound harsh. five years ago i went to my very first eygptain derby between al ahly and zamalek where rivillary between these two giants was at the peak. obviously i went there with out permission as i knew my parents would automatically say no cos of the uncivilized actions ( in other words violence). to solve this issue and avoid any fatalties among both supporters each team had there own gates. supporters like my self who support ahly where in the northern gate of the cairo stadium while supporters of zamalek where in the southern gate of the stadium. once u get past the stadium they have watch dogs standing obviously sniffing for any fire works or bombs. once u get past those u have to pass thru a metal detector, any flags with plastic, metal, or wooden poles are removed and u end up with just a piece of cloth that represents yr club thats it!!. among the things also u r not allowed to get in with u are soda cans whether they r metal or glass. after getting in and enjoying the game with all the good and bad moments the supporters of each club exist also from seprate gates and u litterally have a very strong police force that blocks any entrances or passways that lead to the other side of the stadium to avoid any interactions between the two set of supporters. a hectic duty for policemen yes, but when u think about it, it sure saves every ones life and also preserves a decent form of civilization among soccer lovers who come to enjoy the beauty of the game.
its really sad this has happened in a country who loves soccer, produced the best players, and 4 time world cup winners. the blame is not only on the offcials who are responsible for safety in stadiums but also on the poor awareness of supporters who show no respect to the life of innocent policemen/ or other people who just try there best to help bring a smile on the faces of people who are at the stadium enjoying a good soccer game.
to be clear this incident regardless of who is to blame for just indicates that problems dont just lie in the italian soccer federation it has spread to the supporters of the teams.
i will explain from a personal experience why supporters need to be taught proper sportsman ship and better control of emotions even if sometimes these rules are enforved or may sound harsh. five years ago i went to my very first eygptain derby between al ahly and zamalek where rivillary between these two giants was at the peak. obviously i went there with out permission as i knew my parents would automatically say no cos of the uncivilized actions ( in other words violence). to solve this issue and avoid any fatalties among both supporters each team had there own gates. supporters like my self who support ahly where in the northern gate of the cairo stadium while supporters of zamalek where in the southern gate of the stadium. once u get past the stadium they have watch dogs standing obviously sniffing for any fire works or bombs. once u get past those u have to pass thru a metal detector, any flags with plastic, metal, or wooden poles are removed and u end up with just a piece of cloth that represents yr club thats it!!. among the things also u r not allowed to get in with u are soda cans whether they r metal or glass. after getting in and enjoying the game with all the good and bad moments the supporters of each club exist also from seprate gates and u litterally have a very strong police force that blocks any entrances or passways that lead to the other side of the stadium to avoid any interactions between the two set of supporters. a hectic duty for policemen yes, but when u think about it, it sure saves every ones life and also preserves a decent form of civilization among soccer lovers who come to enjoy the beauty of the game.
its really sad this has happened in a country who loves soccer, produced the best players, and 4 time world cup winners. the blame is not only on the offcials who are responsible for safety in stadiums but also on the poor awareness of supporters who show no respect to the life of innocent policemen/ or other people who just try there best to help bring a smile on the faces of people who are at the stadium enjoying a good soccer game.
i agree, its sad but what hurts the most is not all this. u see apart from the scandal (regardless of what we think is right, or should've happened) the riots thats killed the policeman is just a big blow to a massive force in soccer, with its marvelous teams, players, and soccer loving supporters. italians are know for there love to the game and its there trade mark. last night just makes people forget the beauty of lifting the world cup 4 times, having one of the best football leagues in the world, all this was washed down the drain thanks to the voiilence that supporters show. there is a very very clear red line between supporting yr team and taking out yr emotions on people who have nothing to do with the game, or its result. i wonder why we dont hear about incidents like this happening in england, are'nt the english well known for being hooligans???? welll the answer is simple, they have strcit rules that every body has to follow if u dont then u r up for a long night at the police station and thats the way it should be. they allow u a great deal of freedom to support yr team but there is a limit to where u can go.
thing is i totally dislike going to english games, like when i went to see watford do inter at vicarage road, i was told to hand over any loose change or weapons, which totally sucks, especially as i had a wallet full of small change tht i wanted to hurl at those cheats, and like u arnt allowed to shout curses loudly or ur warned and eventually thrown out, and argh too many rules to go to watch an english match, which is prob why i prefer going to lower league games as they are a little more relaxed
mate if something is going to stop then it would be all competitions not only serie A, so this would mean that serie B would stop as well.
anyway i think its impossible that Pancali or anyone else for that matter would stop football for a year or even a month.There r just way too many factors involved and more importantly big corporations with lots of influence and money..
anyway i think its impossible that Pancali or anyone else for that matter would stop football for a year or even a month.There r just way too many factors involved and more importantly big corporations with lots of influence and money..
ye guido rossi will step in again, deduct 20 points from palermo as he will have made up a transcript of zamparini talking to a leader of the palermo ultras to stir up trouble to kill their scudetto hopes, and 10 points from catania, because they seem to be giving inter a bit of a fright, then rossi will resign and rejoin his work at the telecoms company
