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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 |
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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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The problem facing the Italians has nothing to do with football and stopping football in reaction to the violent uprisings of the Ultras serves no purpose but to legitimize their actions. The Ultras are nothing more than petty but violent criminals who embrace a football team in an effort to validate their anti-social impulses. It is the same in every part of the world. Gangs, Ultras, etc. are just thugs looking commit brutal acts. They should be treated and prosecuted as the criminals they are, not romanticized by the fact that they are willing to commit violent protest of an action they do not even understand, based on their alleged love of football.
It is a tragedy that the police officer shot the Lazio fan. A tragic accident that has nothing to do with football or traveling fans. If the Italians wish to address the violence associated with their "Ultra fans," then address it. They conducted phone taps by the hundreds to uncover a referee scandal. Surely the same efforts can be put forth to infiltrate, uncover, and prosecute those criminals who incite violence at or about football matches. Suspending Serie A without making a sincere effort to prosecute the criminal element associated with the ultras will only result in the resumption of violence with the resumption of Serie A..
James
After having read the article by Paul Watson in response to the tragic death of Gabriele Sandri on 11/11/07 i am left a little perplexed by the way he addresses merely one side of the argument. Mr Watson puts forward very clearly the point that all Ultras are bad and that the show must go on. This in itself shows little regard for the loss of life, a man who was not involved in the incident and was not even an Ultra. In allowing the show to go on as the FIGC did on the morning of the disaster they failed by not following their own precedent set by the tragic death of Filippo Raciti in February of this year. This sent out a message to all fans, not just Ultras, of double standards. So by arguing the fact that the show must go on regardless, Mr Watson assumes that human life is worth less than a sporting spectacle, which was not the case when Raciti died and which in my opinion should never be the case. Disregarding the fact that many fans would have missed a game of football, the ultimate motive for not postponing the championship will always boil down to money. I feel this article is very one sided and does not highlight the issue that had the games all been postponed the Ultras would have had far less grounds to create havoc and riot. Thus Mr Watson's stance is biased. If the games had been immediately postponed then his argument is just. However, as it does not present the reasoning (whether flawed or not) behind the rioting it therefore does not present a balanced argument. In conclusion, whilst the riots in Rome demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the city of Rome, these violent incidents were caused by (as has been reported) only 300 people which for a population of 3 million is a very small minority; and to say that the game must go on merely to not give in to the 300 people is wrong. Surely calling a halt to the games is showing respect to the man who died. The championship was called off for 2 weeks when a policeman was killed in February. All this should have been cited in Mr Watson's argument rather than just presenting the simple facts about violent Ultras.
Gabriele Sandri in our thoughts
Stefano Federici and Andy Johnson
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