Partners: GoodsFromJapan | JapanVisitor | PortugalVisitor

A Bloody Game in Serie A - Soccer Larger Than Life

Ultra Violence in Italy by Ozren Podnar

Two people died in soccer-related incidents in Italy in a space of a week, leading to the suspension of all soccer activities, emergency Government sessions and a wide public debate over the causes and possible remedies for violence in the sport.

The media, without exception, have called for a much tougher stance towards the hooligans, who have been keeping Italy's soccer hostage for decades and for the reconstruction of stadia similar to that carried out in Britain after the Bradford and Hillsbrough disasters in the eighties.

Even though "il calcio" is a quasi-religious, larger-than-life activity for most Italians, the readers of La Repubblica, La Gazzetta dello Sport and other major media have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a lengthy or even indefinite suspension of the Italian soccer leagues in various polls conducted in the days that followed the unrest in Sicily during the Catania-Palermo game.

The show must go on - and it will

However, just a day after murdered police officer Filippo Raciti's funeral in Catania, the consensus has emerged among Italian politicians and soccer officials that the league competitions should restart as soon as possible, as early as the next weekend (February 11th).

It appears that many teams will have to play behind closed doors until their stadia meet new security requirements and that the fans will not be allowed to travel to away games, but soccer as a business will go on because the club owners, players' agents, and television broadcasters cannot afford a long break.

Some media and politicians have villified League chairman Antonio Matarrese who said that he was sorry for the tragedy in Catania, but that the casualties were a part of the system, and that il calcio had to go on. It will not be long before Matarrese's words gain a general, though a tacit acceptance throughout the peninsula.

Something else is at stake for Italian soccer aside from its normal daily operations: the 2012 European Championship, for the hosting of which Italy competes against the joint Croatian-Hungarian bid.

Organizing a Euro or a World Cup makes money, loads of it, and the Italians don't plan to give up just because a police officer got killed in a fan riot. Obtaining the 2012 Euro is Italy's strategic goal not only within the field of sports but economically and politically speaking as well.

Inevitably, an appearance of normality will be established in a matter of days and Serie A, B, C1 and C2 will go on in spite of minor glitches.

Campionato Europeo at stake

Before UEFA announces the host of the 2012 Euro (Italy, Croatia & Hungary or the highly unlikely Poland & Ukraine bids are on the table) on April 18th in Cardiff, the Italian soccer authorities and the Government will have passed a number of highly-publicized measures against violence, closed and reopened a couple of stadia and imprisoned a couple of hundred thugs.

The Italian FA will solemnly declare that the war on football hooliganism is just about to be won and that there is no better way to prove it to the world than through organizing such a spectacular and profitable event as the European Championships in five years' time.

It is curious, isn't it, that the last Italian Serie A Scandal, the one involving Luciano Moggi and tampering with the appointment of referees by several teams including Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina and Milan, was followed by the UEFA's decision to postpone the announcement of the Euro host.

The vote and the announcement was originally scheduled for early December, a bit too soon after the hell broke loose over Moggi and his associates.

Naturally, no-one has officially confirmed that the delay had anything to do with the desire to push the Moggigate into the back of everybody's minds and to give Italy more time to bring its soccer house in order.

True, that was during Lennart Johansson's reign, but most of UEFA's Executive Committe's members have not departed in spite of Michel Platini's recent election as president.

The last World Cup reminded us of the lesson if any reminder was needed at all: never write off an Italian team however adverse the odds may be, and this certainly applies to the forthcoming election of the host for il Campionato Europeo, er, the European Championship. But you know what we mean.

Related Links

Serie A Scandal

Calcio by John Foot

Ozren Podnar

"The Onside In-Site" Copyright © From 2000. All rights reserved. Soccerphile Ltd.