Italy shamed by football violence

By Paolo Menicucci

After Como Calcio's Serie A game against Udinese Calcio was cancelled following a pitch invasion on Wednesday night, the authorities were reminded that a stricter means of enforcing crowd discipline in Serie A is becoming ever more important.

Unpleasant themes
Pitch invasions and crowd trouble have been unpleasant underlying themes of the current Italian season. At the beginning of December, Francesco Baldini, captain of Serie B side SSC Napoli, was attacked by fans while driving his car and last month AC Messina goalkeeper Emauele Manitta was hospitalised after a Cagliari Calcio fan ran on the pitch and punched him.

Massive rise
Injuries to supporters and police have risen a massive 260 per cent since last season and the Italian government are set to restart discussions to find ways to prevent football-related violence. Last week home office minister Giuseppe Pisanu met the national chief of police, Gianni De Gennaro, and Italian Football Federation (FIGC) chairman Franco Carraro to discuss ways to prevent further trouble.

Bleak statistics
"This meeting was not only to raise the alarm at the sudden rise in violent incidents, but also to increase dialogue about security levels," Pisanu explained. After 13 weeks of the current campaign, statistics show that a total of 150 fans and 357 policemen have been injured.

Government decree
The goal of the next meeting will probably be the reinstatement of a government decree with force of law dated 20 August 2001. The decree meant an immediate increase in the police's power to arrest hooligans, but was amended by parliament after just six matches.

Legal problem
At the start of this season, Carraro warned that Serie A needed new legislation to prevent football violence following 12 months in which one fan died and 1,200 were injured in trouble at matches. However, the government's attempt to institute a British-style law allowing police to arrest supporters without the permission of a public prosecutor proved less effective than first envisaged.

Watered-down bill
The bill was intended to allow police to arrest troublemakers up to 48 hours after the fact if there was clear evidence against them, such as pictures from security cameras placed in the stadiums. However, the version of the decree passed through Parliament bore little relation to the original draft.

Custodial sentences
Under the original terms, hooligans could be banned from watching games, with sentences of up to 18 months in jail for defying a ban, and up to three years in jail for invading a pitch. The redrafted version allowed thugs to escape the ban through payment of a €1,500 fine, with a maximum €1,000 for throwing missiles and pitch invasions.

'A big step backwards'
"It's a big step backwards," said a spokesman from the police union. "A perfect decree was changed in a law which benefits only the hooligans. Policemen will continue to be the target of violence and we will be forced to use ever more officers every Sunday."

Policing levels
In 1994, 5,500 police officers were employed every Sunday for football matches, while there are now 10,500 policemen on duty every week despite a major decrease in the average attendance. Even if there are more policemen and less spectators, incidents continue to rise.

Scarred reputation
Como have received a four-match stadium ban for the trouble that put a premature end to the game against Udinese, who were awarded a default 2-0 victory. True Italian supporters, meanwhile, can only hope that there will be an end to the rash of violent incidents that have been a scar on their reputation throughout the season.