The Ultras are at it again and this time it's fatal

[afeencalleddan]

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=44585 2&CPID=21&clid=1248&lid=8&title=Italian+games+ called+off+after+dea th



All games in Italy have been postponed following a policeman's death at Palermo's Sicilian derby with Catania.
The police officer was killed in clashes between both sets of fans outside Stadio Massimino before and after the match.
The dead officer is believed to have been hit in the face by an explosive thrown by some fans.
Italian Federation commissioner Luca Pancalli and sport minister Giovanna Melandri made the decision to call off action over the weekend as a result of the tragedy.
The game itself was marred by crowd trouble with the second half held up for 30 minutes after tear gas was thrown onto the pitch.
Palermo won the game 2-1 with two controversial goals and Catania president Antonio Pulvirenti wants the game replayed and has blamed Palermo fans for the trouble.
"Clearly the incidents were provoked by the Palermo fans when they entered the stadium," said Pulvirenti.
"Before then, nothing had happened, but they started causing trouble and as the images show threw tear gas onto the pitch.
"They were well-organised and came here in order to cause trouble. We feel penalised and will appeal against the result so that the match will be considered void.
"We've been punished for less in the past and demand the same treatment.
"I was on the field and, if you look carefully, the section where the tear gas came from only had Palermo fans in there. "The officials saw what happened and will take action."


There was trouble all over Italy last weekend. The authorities must have been shitting themselves at the thought of the Sicilian derby.

[afeencalleddan]

This is the one true Italian hooligan thread. The others are cheap imitations. You heard it here first!

[Sharkey]

Quote,"The police officer was killed in clashes between both sets of fans outside Stadio Massimino before and after the match." Unquote

as if once wasn't enough

[afeencalleddan]

Quote,"The police officer was killed in clashes between both sets of fans outside Stadio Massimino before and after the match." Unquote

as if once wasn't enoughPalermo winning with 2 controversial goals didn't help either.

[Forsberg]

Palermo winning with 2 controversial goals didn't help either.ue

ah jesus AFCD. Don't try and even use that as even a weak excuse for what has happened here .

It seems like Italian football is at the same evolutionary stage as english football was in the early 80's . Let's hope they learn quicker

RIP

[afeencalleddan]

ah jesus AFCD. Don't try and even use that as even a weak excuse for what has happened here.Where did I say that it was an excuse for violence? Controversy on the pitch didn't help. I know it was going to happen anyway but 'twas all fuel to the fire.

[homer jay]

Rip

[MonTheHoops]

The Italian situation is bizarre. It's far removed from the likes of the South American countries where civil unrest and political instability becomes manifested on the terracings.

I was supposed to be going to Milan for the away leg of the Celtic game but can't because of work. In a way I'm glad.

I have to say the Italian police dont help the situation either though. They're very heavy handed.

[STEVIEG]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6327655.stm

[Echoboy]

There was a 'bomba-carta' (homemade paperbox bomb) thrown into a police car. That guy died and about 40 other police were injuried. All games were called off but there were still clashes today between Ultra and Police.

The game last night was the equivalent of having a Glasgow derby on Paddys Day. Something was always going to happen as the game was at 7.30. The police (Carabinieri) could have called it off but it was left go ahead.

[xvis]

The trouble started when the Palermo fans entered the Stadium in the second half. They were set to be let in after 10 minutes, but for reasons that remain unclear the supporters didn’t arrive until almost the hour mark.

Following Andrea Caracciolo’s goal, flares were thrown from the Catania section towards the Palermo fans and when they fought back the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

“I don’t know who started it, but I did see what happened since we arrived in Catania,” explained a clearly shaken Guidolin.

“We were escorted to and from the hotel for two days by 50 police officers, as if we were in a war zone. I was in the team bus that was pelted with eggs, vegetables and rocks. It’s not possible for this uncivilised treatment in the 21st Century.”

The last time these two teams met resulted in a 5-3 Palermo victory and was also marred by crowd trouble.

“We all have to try to calm down the situation around football now. The Press and Coaches must steer away from the banality of their post-match comments that only serve to stir up violence and ill-feeling.”

Taking the first step, Guidolin admitted that both Palermo’s goals should probably have been disallowed.
“I hold up my hands – we were aided by two incidents that went our way, just as last week we were damaged by moments going against us. I have never criticised the referee and never will.”

the Catania website is suspended and pays respect to Inspector Raciti.

http://www.calciocatania.it/


It's all been a weird year for Italien football, the bribes, the world cup, and now this.
..something has got to be sorted. I've always felt that the only three countries left in Europe with true old style passion at the games were Italy, Turkey and Greece, (there are lots of megastore supporters at England, Germany and Spain), but something has got to be conceded after this.

The Ultras power with Italien clubs will have to be shaken off. It has been misplaced recently, together with a lot of trouble at recent Rome derbies.

[liam2me]

thats the beautiful game for ya.

speaking from when west ham played palermo, the police unfortunately don't help matters as they are extremely heavy handed and usually are the spark that lights the powder keg.

but the italian football fans are mad, its meant to be sport but these nutters ruin it

[MonTheHoops]

thats the beautiful game for ya.

speaking from when west ham played palermo, the police unfortunately don't help matters as they are extremely heavy handed and usually are the spark that lights the powder keg.

but the italian football fans are mad, its meant to be sport but these nutters ruin it


How did that go anyway?

[liam2me]

How did that go anyway?

only a sad vindictive waste of live could turn this into a WUMing opportunity, pity it wasn't you in sicily

[MonTheHoops]

only a sad vindictive waste of live could turn this into a WUMing opportunity, pity it wasn't you in sicily

You're a classy guy Liam. A real classy guy.

[liam2me]

You're a classy guy Liam. A real classy guy.

thats rich coming from you

[MonTheHoops]

thats rich coming from you

I've never wished death on anyone here Liam.

[ho chi feen]

The Italian situation is bizarre. It's far removed from the likes of the South American countries where civil unrest and political instability becomes manifested on the terracings.

I was supposed to be going to Milan for the away leg of the Celtic game but can't because of work. In a way I'm glad.

I have to say the Italian police dont help the situation either though. They're very heavy handed.


I'm supposed to be going to the Rome derby in April, FFS.... Maybe not now.

[MonTheHoops]

I'm supposed to be going to the Rome derby in April, FFS.... Maybe not now.

That's a different kettle of fish. Leave your politics at home. I'd advise supporting Roma on the day too.

[ho chi feen]

That's a different kettle of fish. Leave your politics at home. I'd advise supporting Roma on the day too.

No blue, no red, no yellow. No white (I'm not sure why), and no black (colours of the fascist ultras), and if you don't get your head kicked in by fans of either side, you'll probably catch a baton from the law... and that's all that I was expecting before today. DIF's over there at the mo' (he'd be a neutral and all) and advised not to plan anything 'til the dust settles.

[ho chi feen]

Matches are cancelled as fans and club bosses attempt to deal with the fallout

Tom Kington in Rome
Sunday February 4, 2007
The Observer

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2007/02/03/italy.jpg
Catania fans during Friday's match. Photograph: Marcello Paternostro/AFP


It took around three hours for Filippo Raciti's heart to stop beating after a hurled missile exploded in his face during clashes on Friday between fans of Catania and Palermo, Sicily's top football teams.
'Don't worry, it's nothing, but take me to the hospital. I don't feel well,' were the 38-year-old policeman's last words as the baroque streets of Catania filled with smoke, and helicopters swooped to disperse mobs of masked teenagers to let ambulances reach him.


As his despairing wife and two young children joined the throngs of injured at Catania's hospital, after what should have been a celebration of Sicily's return to footballing prominence, Raciti lost his fight to live, leaving Italy asking if its national game, already hit by match-rigging scandals and falling attendances, is also dying.
Six months after Italy's World Cup triumph, masked 'teppisti', or hooligans, hurling flares at police lines have replaced the ecstatic crowds that cheered the national team home from Germany. After Friday's guerrilla war on the streets of Catania, Italy's football federation called an indefinite halt to all fixtures, with an emergency summit planned for Monday. 'People have got to understand it's time for a change,' said Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Luca Pancalli, head of Italy's football federation, summed up the views of many. 'I have stopped all activity,' he said. 'That's enough. Really. That's enough. I cannot begin to comment on this situation,' he said. 'If we lose our chance to host the 2012 European Championships, we deserve it.'

After a series of violent clashes at Serie A games, 1,500 police were drafted in for the Sicilian derby. The rivalry between the historically underachieving teams, which has reached fever pitch as both joust for Champions League places, took centre stage after half time as Palermo fans fired tear gas at the home support. Choking players fled the pitch as the game was suspended, while outside the stadium Catania fans showered police with rocks, flares and the small explosive that arched its way towards Filippo Raciti who, investigators believe, may have already been stunned by a rock when the charge went off.

The crunch game had been moved forward from Sunday to make way for the huge annual celebration for St. Agatha, Catania's patron saint: a weekend marked by fireworks, folk dancing and a religious procession.

Yesterday all fireworks were banned, leaving just the procession to weave its way through the black volcanic stone-paved streets of a city aware that the fateful explosive may have been sold locally to celebrate the Saint's day.

Many Italians saw Raciti's death as a tragedy foretold, and him as a victim of the rot within the game that was merely glossed over by the heroics of the national side in Berlin.

Italy now boasts 74,000 recognised members of 445 'Ultra' groups of hardcore fans, notably at Inter Milan, who were forced to play Champions League football behind closed doors in 2005 after fans showered players with flares and bottles, despite extra security following a 2001 incident when a burning moped was launched from raised terracing. Violence is even on the march at amateur level: in January the coach of a small team in southern Italy was beaten to death on the field by opposing fans.

Critics who accuse Italy of contracting the 'English disease' of hooliganism miss the point that Italian fans generally save their hatred for the police. 'The Ultras were not fighting against each other, they wanted us,' said policeman Alfio Ferrara, who was close to Raciti on Friday. The number of policemen injured at football games in Italy has increased by 42 per cent in the past year to 202, despite 2005 legislation to crack down on hooliganism, including more security at games and buyers' names printed on tickets.

Many clubs have not found the funds to meet new standards. At Rome's Olympic stadium, metal turnstiles prevent ticketless fans approaching the stands, but Ultras still manage to smuggle in their flares and bangers.

Speaking as events in Catania unfolded, sports minister Giovanna Melandri warned Serie A clubs to shoulder more responsibility in the war on violence, and justice minister Clemente Mastella added that the clubs were to blame for creating cosy ties with hardcore fans.

To keep terraces full, many Serie A clubs have in the past farmed out free tickets to Ultra leaders, who in turn made money reselling them. But when cash-starved chairmen at clubs such as Lazio have cut off the supply, fans have reacted violently. The end of free ticketing was also reportedly behind the mailing of a goat's head to an official at Palermo football club in December.

As ties between clubs and Ultras weaken, family fans are also deserting the stadiums. World Cup euphoria was short lived, and last summer's match-rigging scandal left a sour taste in the mouths of many supporters. With Juventus relegated to Serie B, AC Milan unable to recover from their points deduction and many stars fleeing to Spain, the action is lacking. Not even terrace tickets for under £10 can draw punters out of their living rooms where games are now beamed by pay TV at all hours.

In Catania, St. Agatha managed to shift the game with Palermo back two days, but she is no match for Sky TV, which has brought its rescheduling ways to Italy, pushing the big games to Sunday evenings. After a lifetime of 3pm kick-offs, Italians are voting with their feet and staying at home with the decoder, leaving the hardcore Ultras, flares in their rucksacks and scarves wrapped around their faces, to brave the dark stadiums without them.

As Catania's hospitals struggled with 71 injured on Friday, mostly police officers, and investigators huddled over closed-circuit imagery of Filippo Riciti's final moments, a colleague of the dead policeman said: 'Filippo no longer loved football because these bastards had destroyed all the enthusiasm he had.'

There's never been as many Southern teams in Serie A at the same time as there is now, and the rivalry between them is fierce. Southern teams don't tend have to have one particular rival, but more like 4, 5 or even 6- and boy do they hate each other with a passion.

The idea of holding these kinds of games at evening time is just retarded too. They should take a leaf out of the book of the English, and hold them at midday. It might save a life or two, which is aof course welcome, but it's not a solution in itself.

[ccfc1984]

There's never been as many Southern teams in Serie A at the same time as there is now, and the rivalry between them is fierce. Southern teams don't tend have to have one particular rival, but more like 4, 5 or even 6- and boy do they hate each other with a passion.

The idea of holding these kinds of games at evening time is just retarded too. They should take a leaf out of the book of the English, and hold them at midday. It might save a life or two, which is aof course welcome, but it's not a solution in itself.

I understand what you're saying but they could have played at any time of the day over there and there still would have been trouble. It's not alcohol fuelled they're just mad bastards and it will take a lot to stop them.

[st finnbar]

I understand what you're saying but they could have played at any time of the day over there and there still would have been trouble. It's not alcohol fuelled they're just mad bastards and it will take a lot to stop them.

Reminds me of liverpool fans of the 70 and 80 s,:puppydog:


scum

[ccfc1984]

Reminds me of liverpool fans of the 70 and 80 s,:puppydog:


scum

Oh yeah sure it was only liverpool fans that caused trouble in those days. Wake up boy there was a lot of hooliganism in England at that time and everton fans were one of the main trouble makers. I'm not saying liverpool didn't have hooligans but it was all over england at that time. Every club was at it i'll say it again everton are moaning cunts if liverpool didn't do this if liverpool didn't do that we'd have one this trophy and that trophy. Bollocks everton are shit and everyone knows it.

[ho chi feen]

I understand what you're saying but they could have played at any time of the day over there and there still would have been trouble. It's not alcohol fuelled they're just mad bastards and it will take a lot to stop them.

Yes, that's true of course. Although they don't get as beered up as the English do cheap alcohol and drugs (weed, coke) are a staple of Italian fans on away days. It's much, much easier for things to get heightened at night. Holding this game at lunchtime would have helped, in fact that's one view being bandied about La Repubblica over the weekend. Holding it late at night was insanity, sheer and utter insanity. Shame on sky, and shame on the league.

[ho chi feen]

.
Government steps into Italy's football crisis


John Hooper in Rome
Monday February 5, 2007
The Guardian

Draconian measures, aimed at halting the spread of fan violence in Italian football, were expected from a crisis meeting today between government ministers and league chiefs after the death of a police officer in Catania on Friday night.
No professional matches were played yesterday and Italian media reports suggested that the championship was unlikely to resume until February 18. Even then, many of the matches were expected to be played in empty grounds.

Amid suspicions that the dead officer, Filippo Raciti, had been the victim of a premeditated killing, government figures were pressing for spectators to be excluded indefinitely from stadiums that failed to comply with existing security regulations. No more than four Serie A grounds are thought to meet the requirements of an act passed two years by the previous administration of Silvio Berlusconi.
The Italian football federation's special commissioner, Luca Pancalli, who was brought in to tackle the aftermath of a match-fixing scandal earlier this year, said: "The suspension of the championship will remain in place until drastic steps have been taken."

Among proposals to be discussed at today's meeting was a ban until the end of the season on the movement of fans to away matches. Also under consideration were the deployment of water cannon and the dissolution and proscription of all Italy's hooligan fan clubs".

Inspector Raciti is thought to have died of a ruptured liver. Up to 150 people were injured on Friday as masked fans wielding flares and clubs fought the police outside Catania's Massimino stadium.

[ho chi feen]

So, with the dust settled on this whole sorry mess, what has been done? Not a lot. The San Siro purchased a few cameras. Meanwhile, the rest of the ground in Serie A have been allowed to re-open with minimal alterations.

The state of stadiums has been cited as a big factor in the violent atmosphere that prevails in many Serie A games. The problem with this is that the clubs don't own the stadia, and the municipal authorities that do are more interested in collecting their rental income than investing in safety and upgrading the grounds to create a more welcoming atmosphere. It's catch 22 all round- the majority of supporters won't attend the games, preferring to watch in the comfort and safety of their homes. This leaves only the ultras with little by way of a more moderate support to police them. Thus, the average supporter feels even more disinclined to attend.

It's pretty obvious that club ownership of a new, modern generation of purpose-built stadia is the only solution, but now the only that two clubs have taken matters into their own hands- Sampdoria and Genoa- and made plans to build their own stadium, the municipal authorities shoots down their proposals. The official reason is given as one thing, but the clear motivation behind it is fear of the loss of rental income on the Luigi Ferraris. Many clubs couldn't even afford to this, and many others, operating in the comfort zone are disinclined. Here we have a move that could been an example and provided impetus to the necessary move towards a shift in stadium ownership throughout the nations, and it gets shot down by the greed of a local authority.

JD0N0Mr8GrU

Plus ca change.

There'll be another Filippo Raciti before too long.

[shammy feen]

Oh yeah sure it was only liverpool fans that caused trouble in those days. Wake up boy there was a lot of hooliganism in England at that time and everton fans were one of the main trouble makers. I'm not saying liverpool didn't have hooligans but it was all over england at that time. Every club was at it i'll say it again everton are moaning cunts if liverpool didn't do this if liverpool didn't do that we'd have one this trophy and that trophy. Bollocks everton are shit and everyone knows it.


Who mentioned Everton in this thread?
Why the cheap shot at the Toffees in particular?

[Tube a Pringles]

JD0N0Mr8GrU

Plus ca change.

There'll be another Filippo Raciti before too long.

Nice Stadium..........but the Piaggio airplane factory is right there at the moment, and it's a shocking part of the city for public transport.

Genoa have Milan on the opening day.

Hooray! Forza Griffoni!

[ho chi feen]

Nice Stadium..........but the Piaggio airplane factory is right there at the moment, and it's a shocking part of the city for public transport.

Every part of the city is shocking for transport, mind. There's actually an old railway station in that area and a line that could be re-opened with ease.