The Inter ultras forcing ticket-paying fans to leave San Siro to respect a murdered criminal is becoming a watershed moment in the way Italy deal with their organised fan groups.
It happened during the Serie A match against Sampdoria at the weekend, when news filtered through that Vittorio Boiocchi had been killed in an ambush outside his home.
He was a leader of the Curva Nord ultras group, who spent 26 years in prison for amongst other things drug trafficking and kidnap.
So while his fellow ultras walked out as a sign of respect, they also forced regular fans to do the same, abandoning the stadium after paying their tickets and travelling to see Inter play.
The first punishment has been meted out, as the Corriere della Sera claims a Daspo (similar to an ASBO anti-social order banning from sports arenas) was given to an ultra who physically attacked and pushed to the ground someone who didn’t want to leave their seat.
New Minister for Sport Andrea Abodi has also promised there will be action to clamp down on the power of the ultras, who while they bring extraordinary colour to the stands, also consider themselves to be in charge of their own section of the stadium.
“There is no parallel world, because football and sport in general also answer to the same rules as the rest of the nation,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“My thoughts and apologies go to those people and especially the children who were forced to deal with this situation.”
President of the CONI (Italian Olympic Commission) Giovanni Malagò also warned this lax attitude cannot continue.
“For too long, football represented an exception to the rules and that is not acceptable. As President of the CONI, I say that if a fan wants to leave as a sign of respect or friendship, he is free to do so. But forcing someone else to do the same is out of this world.
“The big talking points in football now are balance sheets, revenue and TV rights, but how embarrassing is it when a game is transmitted abroad and they discover people are being forcibly kicked out of their seats? It’s an own goal for the clubs too.”
inter wont do anything, half your money is behind what the ultras do – illegally – hence why your so in bed with them like every other club with thr ultras.
@mohammed
Apart from talking rubbish as usual, what does “your so in bed” means?
imbred – look it up