Catania handed stadium ban
Catania have been ordered to play the rest of their home matches this season behind closed doors at a neutral venue.
The punishment follows the violence that resulted in the death of a policeman outside their Stadio Angelo Massimino on 2 February.
Filippo Raciti was killed outside Catania's ground during rioting by fans at the Sicilian derby with Palermo. All Italian football was temporarily suspended following Raciti's death and a reappraisal of stadium safety has since been undertaken.
A statement on the Italian Football League website said the ban reflected "the gravity of the events and the real danger posed by these acts of violence".
And it added that the punishment took into consideration "the absolute uselessness of sanctions already inflicted on Catania for previous acts of violence by its supporters".
Catania were fined in September 2006 and ordered to play two matches behind closed doors after their supporters clashed with fans of Messina and Palermo.
The ban on playing at the Massimino will run until 30 June.
Such a decision was expected and the island side will now probably switch their ‘home’ matches to Rome or Rieti – without any fans – starting with this weekend’s Fiorentina clash.
The Massimino is also one of the many stadia which doesn’t meet with the Legge Pisanu safety regulations and will not be up to standard for at least another month anyway.
Catania, who were also handed a £33,475 fine, are expected to appeal against the decision in an effort to use their arena again before next season.
"This sentence has brought a city to its knees," remarked Catania general director Pietro Lo Monaco. "It forces us to close with football despite our limited responsibility in the incidents, seeing as they occurred outside of the stadium.
"It is only normal that we will do all we can so that the healthy part of the support can see the team they love before the end of the campaign.
"Several newspapers had announced that this would be the verdict and that is exactly what happened," added Lo Monaco.
"I need to understand a few things. [Disciplinary judge] Gianpaolo Tosel stated that he did not punish Torino and Roma for their supporters booing during the minute of silence on Sunday because the ‘healthy’ part of the supporters prevailed.
"What does this mean? That we don’t have any decent supporters? Are we all third world citizens in Catania?"
Source: C4 Football Italia
The punishment follows the violence that resulted in the death of a policeman outside their Stadio Angelo Massimino on 2 February.
Filippo Raciti was killed outside Catania's ground during rioting by fans at the Sicilian derby with Palermo. All Italian football was temporarily suspended following Raciti's death and a reappraisal of stadium safety has since been undertaken.
A statement on the Italian Football League website said the ban reflected "the gravity of the events and the real danger posed by these acts of violence".
And it added that the punishment took into consideration "the absolute uselessness of sanctions already inflicted on Catania for previous acts of violence by its supporters".
Catania were fined in September 2006 and ordered to play two matches behind closed doors after their supporters clashed with fans of Messina and Palermo.
The ban on playing at the Massimino will run until 30 June.
Such a decision was expected and the island side will now probably switch their ‘home’ matches to Rome or Rieti – without any fans – starting with this weekend’s Fiorentina clash.
The Massimino is also one of the many stadia which doesn’t meet with the Legge Pisanu safety regulations and will not be up to standard for at least another month anyway.
Catania, who were also handed a £33,475 fine, are expected to appeal against the decision in an effort to use their arena again before next season.
"This sentence has brought a city to its knees," remarked Catania general director Pietro Lo Monaco. "It forces us to close with football despite our limited responsibility in the incidents, seeing as they occurred outside of the stadium.
"It is only normal that we will do all we can so that the healthy part of the support can see the team they love before the end of the campaign.
"Several newspapers had announced that this would be the verdict and that is exactly what happened," added Lo Monaco.
"I need to understand a few things. [Disciplinary judge] Gianpaolo Tosel stated that he did not punish Torino and Roma for their supporters booing during the minute of silence on Sunday because the ‘healthy’ part of the supporters prevailed.
"What does this mean? That we don’t have any decent supporters? Are we all third world citizens in Catania?"
Source: C4 Football Italia
posted by italian calcio blog at 3:54 pm
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