Italian football faces again a difficult moment.

Abete unsure of future

Monday 12 November, 2007

Italian Football Federation President Giancarlo Abete is refusing to rule out a suspension of the Serie A season or a ban on travelling fans.

Calcio is once again in crisis after the accidental shooting of a Lazio fan by a police officer led to violent protests from Ultras across the peninsula.

“It was a very sad day,” Abete told Radio Anch’io Sport. “We need to take stock of public opinion and have meeting between all the areas of the game.

“I don’t know what will happen and it seems risky to say anything now, but there is a problem that goes beyond a possible suspension of the championship.”

Aside from a possible hiatus in the Serie A campaign, Abete discussed whether or not away fans would be allowed to attend games.

“You can’t solve a problem just by banning people,” he stressed. “The answer isn’t to stop people watching football

“As far as travelling fans are concerned we are looking at public safety before we make any decisions

“I’m not ready to think that in 10 years time there will be a situation where you can only watch your team on TV.”

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Preziosi: Stop Serie A

Monday 12 November, 2007

Genoa President Enrico Preziosi has called for a long break in the Serie A season after the weekend’s turmoil.

After the chaotic events of the weekend, the Rossoblu patron doesn’t want to see the problem brushed under the carpet.

“You can’t pretend that nothing happened yesterday,” Preziosi told Radio Kiss Kiss. “This is the umpteenth demonstration that something isn’t working.

“I don’t agree with banning away fans. Why should we have to stop honest citizens who want to watch a game in another city?”

Preziosi’s solution to the current crisis is one of the more radical suggestions to be proposed over the last 24 hours.

“It’s not right to punish everyone just to stop a few. Rather than stop a single game or ban away fans, I’d be inclined to suspend the championship until something changes.

“Two or three months off would help show the world of football it’s true nature.

“I don’t believe in the culture of prohibition, rather I think we need to apply the rules that we already have.

“The laws are there to stop these events, but they are never fully applied. I think it’s time to call an end to this.”

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Monday 12 November, 2007

Blog: The show must go on

The weekend’s events have left the shadow of suspension lingering over the Serie A season. But Paul Watson doesn’t think a break would have the desired effect

They say that in times of tragedy people show their true colours and Sunday was a case in point. As news of Gabriele Sandri’s death spread across the peninsula, it was surely a time for the calcio community to rally round and mourn a terrible accident.

Instead, the scar on the face of Italian football presented itself. Maybe the FIGC should have postponed Atalanta’s game against Milan with tensions rising, but what took place in Bergamo was a damning indictment of Ultra culture.

A section of Orobici Ultras broke the safety glass and ensured that 20,000 real football fans didn’t see a game of football as the teams fled the pitch. These thugs, hiding behind their team colours, had no real knowledge of what had happened in Tuscany, but they decided to flex their muscles.

This set the tone for an evening of pitched battles in Rome as thugs pursued some strange notion of revenge against the police. Only in a warped reality could these misguided individuals believe that their actions were in Sandri’s name.

The aftermath of Sandri’s death merely demonstrated that those elements in every stadium who are merely waiting for an excuse to start trouble have become too powerful. While these dangerous factions can be found in any country, in Italy they seem to be invincible as they can claim the tag of ‘Ultras’.

Due to their scared position of being regarded as an integral part of the club rather than a dangerous rabble, they know that they can intimidate without fear of retribution and the will of a few hundred can take priority over the peace-loving masses.

Suspending the season wouldn’t punish the hooligans who turn up to stadiums hoping for a riot, it would punish the real fans. The thugs who broke the glass at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia can satisfy their bloodlust in bars or at service stations. In fact, stopping the season would further inflate the bloated egos of the troublemakers. Action has to be taken, but it’s time for calcio to show a united front and prove that a small minority can’t bring the game to its knees.

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Head of the Italian Coaches’ Association Renzo Ulivieri has confirmed that there will be no Serie B or C fixtures this weekend.

After the death of Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri at the hands of a police officer and resultant violence throughout the peninsula, there have been suggestions that the season may be suspended.

There are no Serie A games scheduled for the coming weekend due to the Azzurri’s international test against Scotland, but there had been a Cadetti round and lower level fixtures.

“There was a unanimous agreement to not play on Sunday,” Ulivieri declared. “President Giancarlo Abete will explain all the details soon.”

The fate of this season’s Serie A is still up in the air as meetings are still taking place, but sports minister Giovanna Melandri is calling for a break.

“I expect the football world to make the right decision, such as halting play for several weeks,” she stressed.

“We need to take some time to stop the blind violence that doesn’t honour the memory of the young man who was killed.”

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