ALL ITALIAN FOOTBALL CANCELLED

[IAceI]

DiCanio is still awesome though, regardless of his beliefs - he's a sexy footballer.

He's not Gianfranco Zola though.

[Steeb]

Inter've gotta be well pissed at this.

({)

Edited February 4, 2007 by SSTB

[lanky316]

This just got me wondering... If Italy do get banned by UEFA will they just throw a hissy fit and try to get back in through the EU Fair Trade Associations bullshit like Feyenoord have been trying?

[TheArsenal]

It's not UEFA who cancelled it all, it's the Italian FA. So they've done it to themselves.

Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Gianni Petrucci says Italian football could resume within two weeks.

All weekend matches, as well as an international against Romania, were cancelled after a policeman was killed during clashes between fans in Sicily.

CONI will discuss ways to solve the crisis on Sunday and Petrucci said: "We are trying to find measures to restart football but we do not know when.

"It could be in a couple of weeks but we'll have to consult the government."

CONI will meet with the government and with Italy's minister of sport Giovanna Melandri on Monday.

Petrucci said on Saturday that one possible solution could be to play league games in empty stadiums.

"It could be that the games are played behind closed doors," he said. "I don't know what measures the football world will have to take."

The Italian prime minister has already promised "robust" measures to curb the violence.

Romano Prodi called for "a remedy that makes clubs feel responsible (for fans) and radically changes the situation".

The new Uefa Chairman, Michel Platini, backed the decision to halt football in Italy.

He said the violence had deepened concern about hooliganism in football.

He compared it to recent incidents involving French and Dutch fans, and said everyone involved in football must work together to eradicate violence from the game.

"We must now work together with the Italian football authorities and politicians in support of the Italian game, and find a solution to this spiral of violence that is plaguing European football," he said.

Teargas

The violence occurred at a Serie A derby game between Catania and Palermo.

Police fired teargas to control fighting between fans before, during and after Friday's match.

The policeman, Filippo Raciti, died from his injuries after a home-made bomb exploded in his face outside Catania's stadium.

About 70 people were injured in the clashes, and another police officer is believed to be in a critical condition.

Mr Prodi told reporters he would hold a meeting on Monday with Interior Minister Giuliano Amato and Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri to agree on "robust" measures against football violence.

"We cannot continuously put the lives of police officers at risk," he told reporters on Saturday.

Mr Raciti's death has prompted outrage from Italian politicians and the suspension of all amateur and professional games - including Wednesday's friendly against Romania - by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

"A strong signal was needed until we find measures to prevent certain episodes," said FIGC head Luca Pancalli.

Minute's silence

Mr Pancalli had warned earlier this week that more violence would bring a halt to league matches after clashes between supporters and police in several cities last Sunday.

"We will immediately set up a commission to discuss the situation between sport and politics. It's not possible to carry on like this."

The head of the Italian Footballers' Association, Sergio Campana, called for the leagues to be halted for at least a year.

The country's Olympic committee said a minute's silence would be held before all Italian sports events over the weekend.

Catania, fifth in Serie A, against Palermo, who are third, was given an early kick-off time on Friday because of fears over public safety.

The game was suspended for 30 minutes when tear gas, used by police to control trouble inside the stadium, drifted onto the pitch.

Prior to the start, a minute's silence had been held following the death of a club official from lower league club Sammartinese last weekend.

Edited February 4, 2007 by TheArsenal

[lanky316]

But there will be an investigation and surely UEFA will be taking action in some way?

[IAceI]

It'll come back and there will be no difference.

[Turbo Yannis]

Inter've gotta be well pissed at this.

({)

[The Kraig]

I'd claim victory, personally.

It's not even the football that's causing the hatred, it's the hatred invading the football. I think that's what annoys me the most.

[Adam]

"What we're witnessing has nothing to do with soccer, so Italian soccer is stopping."

Great stuff Luca, that made a tonne of sense

But yes, stopping it for a period of time is a smart move, BUT only if they manage to do something about all this violence. Now, id just say 'thats it for this season folks, Inter are champions' for a start, and yes, UEFA should do what they did to England after the Heizel (sp?) tragedy, and thats ban Italy from UEFA for several years, and to be honest, id take their international team out of Euro 2008 & World Cup qualifications, whether theyre defending World Champions or not.

[Guest Rabid Wolveringo]

Two things,

1. Di Canio got off lightly because he argued that the fascist salute is NOT a racist sign, but a political one (which it is). He also made the case that players such as Christiano Lucarelli and others in southern teams have Soviet Sickles tattooed on their bodies that were occasionally displayed and that no one made a huge deal about it. As such, this is why he had a relatively lightweight punishment and this is also why the Italian FA amended laws to outlaw political symbols from Italian Football. While the Italian FA is certainly not a bastion of integrity, I don't begrudge this particular decision.

2. It's reaaaaaaally classy for the head of the Italian FA to condemn the decision to play games in closed stadiums by saying that the policeman's death was no big deal and that "death is just a part of football". Smooooth.

Edited February 6, 2007 by Rabid Wolveringo

[King Ellis]

Two things,

1. Di Canio got off lightly because he argued that the fascist salute is NOT a racist sign, but a political one (which it is). He also made the case that players such as Christiano Lucarelli and others in southern teams have Soviet Sickles tattooed on their bodies that were occasionally displayed and that no one made a huge deal about it. As such, this is why he had a relatively lightweight punishment and this is also why the Italian FA amended laws to outlaw political symbols from Italian Football. While the Italian FA is certainly not a bastion of integrity, I don't begrudge this particular decision.

2. It's reaaaaaaally classy for the head of the Italian FA to condemn the decision to play games in closed stadiums by saying that the policeman's death was no big deal and that "death is just a part of football". Smooooth.

Oh, yeah, the main part.

[lanky316]

Well there's this documentary on sky which shows this team having several players die during the course of the actual season

Caught on Sky this morning that one of the government proposals incluided banning under 18's from attending matches... Is that going to stop crowd violence really? Or has Italian football been swarmed with 14 year old chavs leading to crowd trouble?

[Liam]

I can't remember the name of the bloke (he used to do Goal Italia or whatever it was on Channel 4...legend), but he was on Channel 4, and said that they need to get rid of these sections in grounds that have the hardcore fans, and where the police don't go.

And they also need to actually put into action the rules that they were aiming to do 2 or 3 years ago, which haven't been implemented.

[Steeb]

I didn't see it in here - although I might just be blind - but I seem to remember reading yesterday that the football is back on, but all matches will be behind closed doors, until new rules and regulations are put into place.

Riots anyone?