Roma Caput Mundi?
The series of images below were taken during the Roma - Livorno match. The two teams are also indirectly representative of two political extremes in Italy. While the Roma Curva Sud is made up of predominantly fascist individuals, the entirety of the Livorno support is considered to be red - as in communist. Yesterday, some bright sparks among the Roma supporters decided to proudly display their colours. The panoply of propagandistic material displayed shows clearly that this is not the work of one or two individuals but the fruit of a group of sick minds getting together.
That it was an organised political assault in what should be the calm surroundings of sport was further demonstrated by the discovery of 6 molotov bombs by the police. Apparently the Roman ultras wanted to vindicate a friend of theirs who had lost his hand to a petard thrown by the Livornesi in the first leg. It would appear that once the molotovs had been used they also had a banner ready which would read "V'abbiamo bruciati tutti!" (We burnt you all).
Fortunately the banner of burning hate was not used. Others were though and they have triggered off the indignation of a nation that cannot seem to rid itself of politics in football. One banner read "God Mitt Uns" (God with Us) reproducing the writing on the belt of Nazi soldiers. The other one read "Lazio e Livorno: Stessi Iniziali Stesso Forno" (Lazio and Livorno, same intials same oven). Days after the commemoration of the Shoah the idiots of the Curva Sud were recalling the use of ovens for the burning of human beings.
Now - and here comes the "ma vuoi vedere che" bit. I smell that someone must blame Juve somewhere. Juve has its fair share of ultra supporters but whenever I hear news of the Drughi I notice that they tend to be on the receiving end of a beating and are comparatively a bunch of wannabe hooligans (which does not in any way condone their action). I am glad that the Juve ultras could not muster enough courage to attack a kindergarten school outing because that keeps my team out of trouble. Of course I would be even more glad should such extremities not exist at all.
But back to Roma. It turns out that the Stadio Olimpico was "diffidato" (carried a sort of first warning) because of an incident involving the throwing of a coin during a Roma-Lazio match. This should mean that the stadium should be suspended for the next match.
But guess who Rometta will play in the next match? No prizes for the winner. Next match scheduled at the Stadio Olimpico is Roma - Juventus (return leg of the match in which the giallorossi so effectively "outclassed" the bianconeri with a shining display of catenaccio and hit and run). So if justice were to be had the Olimpico would be banned for this hot event. Somehow I smell the conspiracy theorists squirming to the surface and shouting "it's not fair". And somehow somewhere deep down I hear someone coming up with the story of Moggi, Giraudo and Bettega creeping into the Olimpico last Sunday and holding up the offensive banner to ensure that the tanto amati tifosi would not be there to urge their team to an incredible defensive victory come next match.
Ma vuoi vedere che questi striscioni gli hanno fatti i Juventini?
Cradle of civilisation? Ma fatemi il piacere!!!!
Forza ragazzi!
4 commentaires:
The simple reason that Juventus does not suffer such serious hooligan problems is that unlike teams like Roma and Lazio they are supported predominantly by non-locals. As is the case with Manchester United most of the Juventus followers do not come from the city in which they are based, and more often don't even live there. Indeed, Juventus is the most popular team in Calabria, Sicily, Puglia and various other similarly underprivileged regions. Large swathes of the supporters on any given match day are bussed in from all over Italy. They certainly share footballing sympathies, but the groups are far from the gang-style aggregations one might find at the Olimpico stadium. What hooligans there are tend to be in small groups and not so politically charged. Inevitably, the deficit in localism does much to mitigate the passion with which the team is supported. That can only be a good thing, though I admit would be far from true to say that any Italian stadium is a healthy atmosphere to which to expose young children.
As for Roma, I am intrigued by the horrific Nazi banners. The most archetypally Roma-supporting districts of the city are usually quite left-wing. The city as a whole, in fact, is mostly left-wing, though the situation changes as you head out into the suburbs and region, a fact reflected in the political representation at city and regional level. I imagine the events of this Sunday will have horrified loyal Roma supporters above all, and one can only hope suitable remedial action is undertaken.
Too true. And I do know a couple of Roma supporters who would be horrified by what happened. The thing is that reality is what it is. Juve is often derided for the lack of warmth of its support and it is a cross that it bears. It is a fact that Juventus would be more at home in Pescara or Palermo than in cold Turin but it is also true that the cold support is part of the spirit of the Piemontesi. In an interview with Equipe magazine last Sunday Platini said he felt at home with Juve and would never have fit in in Rome or Naples because it (Juve) is as cold as his character. Not many people would agree that it is a good thing and I envy Rome for its support but my envy stops there. I find blind support as irritating as much as I am capable to descend to being a blind supporter myself.
Now, while I sit back and try to solve this very conundrum I still hope that Olimpico will be banned next Wednesday - both for the political reasons of meting out a proper punishment that hurts as well as for the blind passion that makes me hope that banning the supporters will help Juve get through this stage!
May a loyal Roma supporter please stand up and condemn those ugly scenes?
Present, your honour.
I am doubly horrified because, as Vlad rightly points out, Roma supporters tend to be left-wingers and this sort of behaviour is left to a group of Lazio ultras who are generally associated with the far-right. You may recall that when Aaron Winter used to play for them, some idiots used to boo their own player because he was coloured.
This politics in football phenomenon is both ugly and a pain. The Stadio Olimpico has a capacity of 80,000 and on its best days it's a wonderful spectacle of warmth, camaredrie and support for a great team from a great city. I know, because I was there when Roma won the league a few summers ago.
And yet it can be hijacked by a hundred fascist louts. To tar a whole team and fan-base is greatly unfair.
I await Wednesday's game with trepidation and hope that we won't have to play sul campo neutro di Palermo...
ps: which Maltese team will be the first to be associated with our own far-right at Ta' Qali?
Anyway, mercifully Italy have been drawn a tough group for the Euro qualifiers. Hopefully, this will prevent a horde of uncivilized Italian louts from having to leave their own country. Why can't Italy take a leaf out England's book in tackling the disease of hooliganism. That and not having a team that is, to put it diplomatically, utterly shit; Lippi or no Lippi.
Enregistrer un commentaire