Tonight Liverpool play Juventus in Turin. Turin and its surrounding provinces have banned the sale of alcohol for 48 hours. Liverpool supporters have been advised not to travel independently to the game, not to travel in small groups, not to wear Liverpool colours, and not to use taxis to travel to the stadium. The Italian police have sent in an undercover special police unit to help deal with possible crowd violence. Last night in Milan, thugs fired flares -- how did they get flares into the stadium in the first place? -- and other missiles from the terraces. AC Milan's goalkeeper suffered burns when a flare hit him on the shoulder. He was lucky. The game was abandoned and trouble erupted in Milan in the aftermath. This followed one of the worst weekends of fan violence in Italian football history.
As it was in the dark days of Heysel, football is out of control again. I fear for the Liverpool fans in Turin tonight. This time it's an Italian problem. Regardless of what happens tonight, it's time for UEFA to be brave, accept the resulting loss in revenue, and impose a blanket ban on participation of Italian clubs in European competitions. The whole culture and organizational structure of Italian football needs to be changed.
Posted by Setsunai at April 13, 2005 3:45 PM | TrackBackAgree with you about Italian football although their problems are not relatively recent. Flares and the like are common parts of the pre-match fan display behind the goals. Apparently the Inter fans displayed a banner stating they weren't too bothered about the match.
What has got some English fans angry is that such events are not uncommon in Italy yet when English teams play in Europe the police will target them before any trouble and as much as ignore Italian supporters when they get involved.
Having said that certain English fans with their, in general, drunken behaviour don't allow for a peaceful visit. This constitutes "fun" apparently - demonstrating what happens when two cultures with their own perceptions of "fun" collide.
I feel caught in the middle here. I enjoy a drink - and have had my fair share of more than is necessary. Yet seeing my compatriots on the streets of a foreign country, drunk and proclaiming their Englishness is something I would prefer to steer away from. I also find it incredible that such people then wonder why they are targeted by police and local idiots alike.
Although binge drinking is being highlighted back home it is clear that such events are so much a part of the average person's weekly routine. Taking such habits abroad become equally routine and then clash with the realisation that "foreigners" find such behaviour abhorrent.
Posted by: Pat at April 13, 2005 10:08 PM | Permalink to CommentThere's no denying the history behind what went on last night, but the history, the awful behaviour of English fans in the past, the craziness of the binge drinking culture of England, does not excuse the need for Italy to go through the same process England more or less successfully went through after Heysel. It looks like Inter will be banned, but for me that's not enough. We had the flares again last night. fired at the Liverpool fans. It's one day later and nothing has been learned. How did they get flares into the stadium AGAIN last night? (I've heard also that the Italian police are afraid to even go into the Curva Sud.) And that it's not a recent thing makes it all the more necessary to sort it out. What I don't understand is how a blanket ban for Italian football is not even any near the agenda. After two nights of madness, the kind you would never even think of no matter how much you'd drunk, the most we can reasonably hope for is a ban for Inter, and that's nowhere near enough.
Posted by: Setsunai at April 14, 2005 2:45 PM | Permalink to Comment