Guidolin: It was a war zone
Palermo coach Francesco Guidolin blamed Catania fans for the ‘war zone’ atmosphere and warned football "can’t carry on like this."
The Rosanero won the Sicilian derby 2-1 at the Stadio angelo Massimino this evening, but it was interrupted by crowd trouble and tear gas.
"We won the match on the pitch – or rather both matches, seeing as there was a 30-minute gap – but we cannot enjoy this victory. Football cannot last for much longer like this. There will be no joy in it, there’s no point."
The trouble started when the Palermo fans entered the stadium in the second half. They were set to be let in after 10 minutes, but for reasons that remain unclear the supporters didn’t arrive until almost the hour-mark.
Following Andrea Caracciolo’s goal, flares were thrown from the Catania section towards the Palermo fans and when they fought back the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
"I don’t know who started it, but I did see what happened since we arrived in Catania," explained a clearly shaken Guidolin.
"We were escorted to and from the hotel for two days by 50 police officers, as if we were in a war zone. I was in the team bus that was pelted with eggs, vegetables and rocks. It’s not possible for this uncivilised treatment in the 21st Century."
The last time these two teams met resulted in a 5-3 Palermo victory and was also marred by crowd trouble.
"We all have to try to calm down the situation around football now. The Press and Coaches must steer away from the banality of their post-match comments that only serve to stir up violence and ill-feeling."
Taking the first step, Guidolin admitted that both Palermo’s goals should probably have been disallowed.
"I hold up my hands – we were aided by two incidents that went our way, just as last week we were damaged by moments going against us. I have never criticised the referee and never will."
Source: C4 Football Italia
The Rosanero won the Sicilian derby 2-1 at the Stadio angelo Massimino this evening, but it was interrupted by crowd trouble and tear gas.
"We won the match on the pitch – or rather both matches, seeing as there was a 30-minute gap – but we cannot enjoy this victory. Football cannot last for much longer like this. There will be no joy in it, there’s no point."
The trouble started when the Palermo fans entered the stadium in the second half. They were set to be let in after 10 minutes, but for reasons that remain unclear the supporters didn’t arrive until almost the hour-mark.
Following Andrea Caracciolo’s goal, flares were thrown from the Catania section towards the Palermo fans and when they fought back the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
"I don’t know who started it, but I did see what happened since we arrived in Catania," explained a clearly shaken Guidolin.
"We were escorted to and from the hotel for two days by 50 police officers, as if we were in a war zone. I was in the team bus that was pelted with eggs, vegetables and rocks. It’s not possible for this uncivilised treatment in the 21st Century."
The last time these two teams met resulted in a 5-3 Palermo victory and was also marred by crowd trouble.
"We all have to try to calm down the situation around football now. The Press and Coaches must steer away from the banality of their post-match comments that only serve to stir up violence and ill-feeling."
Taking the first step, Guidolin admitted that both Palermo’s goals should probably have been disallowed.
"I hold up my hands – we were aided by two incidents that went our way, just as last week we were damaged by moments going against us. I have never criticised the referee and never will."
Source: C4 Football Italia
posted by italian calcio blog at 8:08 pm
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