Magistrates explain calcio chaos
The magistrate of Catania – the scene of the tragic riots – explains why suspending the games is a victory for the hooligans and how they keep re-offending.
The Federation immediately suspended all football activity in Italy after a police officer was killed in the Sicilian derby riots outside the Stadio Angelo Massimino on Friday.
However, the magistrate of Catania has gone against these plans, suggesting it was an error to call off even one week of games, let alone an entire campaign.
"This is a mistake, because it means that sport is held hostage by a band of delinquents," said magistrate Renato Papa, whose jurisdiction is the city where Friday night’s fatal riots were held.
"The risk is that we will end up giving a stronger voice to those few criminal elements, who will then hold control over the vast majority of peaceful fans who go to the stadium."
Once again, the Italians are looking to England for a way out, recalling how their hooligan problem was stamped down in the 1980s following the Heysel disaster.
"The hooligans were defeated thanks to radical intervention, in other words arrests that meant certain prison time and the confiscation of passports."
The Legge Pisanu demanded all clubs and arenas ensure CCTV footage, numbered and named tickets, stewards paid for by the sides to police the fans and adequate turnstiles, but so far very few stadiums fit the bill.
Magistrate Papa suggests that he has no power to lock up the vandals even when they are put in custody.
"The Italian laws are inadequate when it comes to football-related violence, because there is no deterrent.
"Overall 22 Catania fans have been arrested thanks to regulations allowing video and photographic evidence, but the law says that if they have no previous convictions, they’ll be released again immediately. Even if they do have a record, it’ll still result in a suspended sentence."
Source: C4 Football Italia
The Federation immediately suspended all football activity in Italy after a police officer was killed in the Sicilian derby riots outside the Stadio Angelo Massimino on Friday.
However, the magistrate of Catania has gone against these plans, suggesting it was an error to call off even one week of games, let alone an entire campaign.
"This is a mistake, because it means that sport is held hostage by a band of delinquents," said magistrate Renato Papa, whose jurisdiction is the city where Friday night’s fatal riots were held.
"The risk is that we will end up giving a stronger voice to those few criminal elements, who will then hold control over the vast majority of peaceful fans who go to the stadium."
Once again, the Italians are looking to England for a way out, recalling how their hooligan problem was stamped down in the 1980s following the Heysel disaster.
"The hooligans were defeated thanks to radical intervention, in other words arrests that meant certain prison time and the confiscation of passports."
The Legge Pisanu demanded all clubs and arenas ensure CCTV footage, numbered and named tickets, stewards paid for by the sides to police the fans and adequate turnstiles, but so far very few stadiums fit the bill.
Magistrate Papa suggests that he has no power to lock up the vandals even when they are put in custody.
"The Italian laws are inadequate when it comes to football-related violence, because there is no deterrent.
"Overall 22 Catania fans have been arrested thanks to regulations allowing video and photographic evidence, but the law says that if they have no previous convictions, they’ll be released again immediately. Even if they do have a record, it’ll still result in a suspended sentence."
Source: C4 Football Italia
posted by italian calcio blog at 10:49 pm
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