Serie C call for long-term hiatus
Italian football should be suspended for two years to put an end to the violence, insists Serie C Lega Calcio President Mario Macalli.
"A week won’t make any difference. We have to stop for a year or two," announced the representative of the Third Division clubs.
While FIGC Commissioner Luca Pancalli has called an indefinite halt to football in Italy, most believe normal service will resume within a fortnight after rioting outside Catania-Palermo cost 38-year-old Chief Inspector Filippo Raciti his life.
"The only solution is to stay out of sport until necessary, even if that means two years, because this is no longer football," slammed Macalli.
"Those charlatans must learn to keep quiet for once. Last week a man in the amateur Leagues was beaten to death, has that been forgotten already? Have you never seen the youth team games in the mornings? There are commentators out there who haven’t been to a match in 30 years and are still expressing their opinions on it.
"Pancalli did very well to suspend the sport, but seven days won’t achieve anything. There simply aren’t the conditions allowing us to continue our work. The solution has to be found within the Government, as when they pass a law, they must then force it to be respected."
The Legge Pisanu has failed to solve the hooligan problem in the peninsula, but Macalli warns the real issue is the failure to keep known offenders under lock and key.
"The English system for clamping down on hooligans worked because they took it seriously. When someone makes a mistake there, they pay the price, but in Italy nobody ever pays. The Curva is a law unto itself and for too long the media has aided, abetted and even applauded the use of flares and insulting banners."
As President of the Serie C Lega Calcio, Macalli pointed out the massive discrepancy between the top two tiers and the rest of the sport, as a halt to the season would cost clubs in television rights revenue.
"Football is something else, it’s 90 clubs in Serie C, several thousand in the Amateur Leagues, not just 20 sides. We couldn’t care less about television rights. The media always talk about those Presidents who reap the profits, not of those who pour cash in out of sheer passion.
"If Alessandro Del Piero has an ingrown toenail, it’s front page news, but a President who puts in £2m from his own pocket every season isn’t of interest to the papers. This isn’t what football is about."
Source: C4 Football Italia
"A week won’t make any difference. We have to stop for a year or two," announced the representative of the Third Division clubs.
While FIGC Commissioner Luca Pancalli has called an indefinite halt to football in Italy, most believe normal service will resume within a fortnight after rioting outside Catania-Palermo cost 38-year-old Chief Inspector Filippo Raciti his life.
"The only solution is to stay out of sport until necessary, even if that means two years, because this is no longer football," slammed Macalli.
"Those charlatans must learn to keep quiet for once. Last week a man in the amateur Leagues was beaten to death, has that been forgotten already? Have you never seen the youth team games in the mornings? There are commentators out there who haven’t been to a match in 30 years and are still expressing their opinions on it.
"Pancalli did very well to suspend the sport, but seven days won’t achieve anything. There simply aren’t the conditions allowing us to continue our work. The solution has to be found within the Government, as when they pass a law, they must then force it to be respected."
The Legge Pisanu has failed to solve the hooligan problem in the peninsula, but Macalli warns the real issue is the failure to keep known offenders under lock and key.
"The English system for clamping down on hooligans worked because they took it seriously. When someone makes a mistake there, they pay the price, but in Italy nobody ever pays. The Curva is a law unto itself and for too long the media has aided, abetted and even applauded the use of flares and insulting banners."
As President of the Serie C Lega Calcio, Macalli pointed out the massive discrepancy between the top two tiers and the rest of the sport, as a halt to the season would cost clubs in television rights revenue.
"Football is something else, it’s 90 clubs in Serie C, several thousand in the Amateur Leagues, not just 20 sides. We couldn’t care less about television rights. The media always talk about those Presidents who reap the profits, not of those who pour cash in out of sheer passion.
"If Alessandro Del Piero has an ingrown toenail, it’s front page news, but a President who puts in £2m from his own pocket every season isn’t of interest to the papers. This isn’t what football is about."
Source: C4 Football Italia
posted by italian calcio blog at 8:08 pm
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