Clubs: All or nothing!

Presidents from Serie A and B sides have threatened to go on strike if only some stadiums are allowed to host supporters.

"There are only three options available here – we stop, everyone plays behind closed doors or everyone plays with crowds in the stands," insisted Livorno patron Aldo Spinelli.

"There is no other solution. The Lega Calcio must come together tomorrow to decide unanimously which of the three it will choose."

That seems increasingly unlikely, as the Government decree passed today makes it clear that only stadiums up to the Legge Pisanu standard will be allowed fans.

To date in Serie A that means the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Siena’s Stadio Artemio Franchi, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and the Stadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo.

"I am pleasantly surprised by what this Government has done," noted Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini.

"I remain perplexed over the severity of closing down the stadiums, because it seems punitive for the clubs, even if some of them can be accused of serious delays in the restructuring work."

If Serie A and B resume this weekend – as has been suggested by FIGC Commissioner Luca Pancalli – then Palermo-Empoli would be one of only a handful of games to play in front of the fans.

However, the majority of Presidents are against the harsh line taken by the Government.

"Stadiums are made for the fans and lovers of football. If they cannot participate, then we should suspend the Leagues for a year or two until the political authorities have found the right solution," insisted Arezzo owner Piero Mancini. "Football without the fans simply isn’t football."

There could still be a get-out clause for the smaller stadiums, as the Legge Pisanu only applied to arenas with a larger than 10,000 capacity, but it has now been reduced to 7,500.

"There is the temptation to reduce our capacity to 7,500 so that we can play, but I am seriously worried about my 5,500 season ticket holders and all the fans that have bought shares in Triestina," said President Stefano Fantinel.

"It is a punitive decree. The Lega Calcio had given room for collaboration so that we could all come together and resolve the problem from the source. All the clubs agree we must combat delinquency, but it’s paradoxical that it means locking the majority of well-behaved supporters out too."

Source: C4 Football Italia

Serie A and B to resume this weekend

FIGC Commissioner Luca Pancalli has confirmed the Serie A and B fixtures will resume this weekend.

"I think it would be a mistake not to begin again," he said after the Government passed new laws clamping down on football-related violence.

"It would also be an error not to ride the positive momentum created in these days with a profound understanding of everyone’s responsibilities. Now we can no longer back down to hooligans."

As expected, the campaign will resume from the Round 23 fixtures, so the games suspended last Sunday will be played at a later date – provisionally in April.

However, the clubs are not happy with the ruling that stadiums must host matches behind closed doors until they pass the Legge Pisanu tests.

"There is a very clear and definite order here. As of today, venues not up to standard will have to play behind closed doors," warned Minister of the Interior Giuliano Amato.

The sides, led by Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani, had urged for at least the season ticket holders to be allowed in while restructuring work is underway.

"When the turnstiles and security checks for numbered tickets are in place, the stadiums can be opened up to only season ticket holders. Speaking to some clubs, I have been told this work can be completed in around a month."

This does not include the San Siro, as it’s predicted the required work to install turnstiles cannot be completed before September, so Milan and Inter risk playing the rest of the season – perhaps including their Champions League games – behind closed doors.

To date only four Serie A stadiums are to the Legge Pisanu standard – the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Stadio Artemio Franchi in Siena, Stadio Olimpico in Rome and Stadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo.

This suggests – although it will only be confirmed following another meeting with police authorities on Thursday – that fans would be allowed into three fixtures this weekend.

Those matches would be Palermo-Empoli, Roma-Parma and Torino-Reggina.

In Serie B only three games can open their doors to the crowds, Spezia-Bologna, Lecce-Verona and Modena-Albinoleffe.

Source: C4 Football Italia

Minister for Sport: Safety first

Minister for Sport Giovanna Melandri suggests that banned venues will open their doors before the end of the season, but that safety is the primary concern.

"We wanted to introduce laws that would share severity with respect for what must remain the generous and passionate support of millions of tifosi," said the Government representative after today’s new decree was passed.

"We strained to include in this complex document not just muscle, but also brain and heart for a vision of changing football that we share with the sports authorities."

Among the demands of the Government regulations are that all stadiums that do not pass the Legge Pisanu tests will have to host games behind closed doors, the barring of tickets sold in bulk for away matches and increased punishment for those caught carrying flares, firecrackers or resisting arrest.

"The Government has taken on procedures that will finally impose many of the recommendations set out in the Legge Pisanu in 2005," continued Melandri.

"Security comes above all else and the primary objective, both for us and the clubs, is to make the stadiums safe. We expect to see a system where arenas will gradually be opened up to the public, linked in with the restructuring work, above all regarding access to the venues."

Minister for Justice Clemente Mastella also commented on the anti-football-related-violence laws passed in the wake of Friday’s Catania riots that saw 38-year-old Chief Inspector Filippo Raciti killed.

"This is not a special law, it is a severe ruling prompted by an extraordinary situation," he noted.

"These were procedures that had to be done in clinical fashion, taking into account the wishes of fans and non-fans alike. The objective is for a family to be able to go to the stadium without feeling afraid.

"This will create a few difficulties and demand sacrifices from the supporters, but they will be understanding. Those who won’t be so accommodating will be the violent Ultras. These laws must debilitate that rotten core that has nothing to do with football or healthy competition."

Source: C4 Football Italia

New laws "not punishing clubs"

CONI chief Gianni Petrucci has urged clubs to focus on getting their stadiums up to standard instead of complaining about the new laws.

This evening the Government passed strict new anti-violence decrees that confirmed only venues that pass the Legge Pisanu tests will be allowed to host games with supporters in the stands.

All others – and so far only four in Serie A fit the bill in Turin, Rome, Siena and Palermo – must play behind closed doors until the necessary work is complete.

Importantly, the Legge Pisanu will now apply to stadiums with a minimum capacity of 7,500 rather than the previous 10,000. Some arenas had reduced their capacity to 9,999 to avoid making the changes.

"I thank the Government for the speed with which it dealt with the problems linked with the recent violence," wrote Petrucci in a statement.

"The decree passed today, which we must all abide by, represents an inevitable step after the shameful scenes of the last few weeks.

"Having said that, this law must not be considered a punitive act for clubs and their Presidents, who have invested so much in this sport. I thank them for the sacrifices they have made up until now and those that they will make in the near future.

"I am confident that Lega Calcio President Antonio Matarrese will, with his great experience, along with the Presidents of the Serie A and B clubs find the right motivation to overcome this difficult moment that involves not only football, but the whole country."

However, the clubs are not expected to take the severity of the new laws particularly well, especially as in the current situation only four stadiums would be able to host games with fans.

There are other practical issues still to be resolved too, such as European competition and internationals.

While the San Siro has passed UEFA checks, will it be allowed to host the Champions League games for Milan and Inter later this month?

The laws also clamp down on the Ultras, banning the block sale of tickets to organised groups of away supporters.

"We will also request that the Lega Calcio ban all evening kick-offs for at least a month. To have more of these incidents would be absolutely detrimental and it’s obvious that it’s more difficult to guarantee public safety in the evening," added Undersecretary for Sport Giovanni Lolli.

Another aspect of the new law involves the so-called Daspo – a banning order from fans with records for violent behaviour attending games – that will extend the maximum sentence and at times translate that to community service.

"We realise that these are particularly severe regulations without precedent, but they were the only answer to the incidents in Catania," explained Vice-Minister for the Interior Marco Minniti.

Source: C4 Football Italia

Government approves "Draconian" laws

Five days after last Friday’s tragedy in Catania, the government have reached a hard and decisive decision to clamp down on football violence.

The law passed by the cabinet this evening, the culmination of a lengthy debate which began just hours after the death of police officer Filippo Raciti, means Italian football now has a tough set of rules to follow.

"We have approved Draconian measures," commented Minister for Infrastructure Antonio Di Pietro at the end of this evening’s crisis talks. "If stadiums are not up to code, they will be closed to fans."

The suspension of the Championship - enforced last weekend by FIGC commissioner Luca Pancalli – is now expected to come to an end.

When the teams return to action, grounds across the country which do not meet the requirements of the Legge Pisanu bill will be empty. The decree is 15 pages long and counts 13 articles.

This is certainly the harshest of the regulations, and one which will continue to be the source of debate for quite some time. The closure of non-regulation stadiums is just the beginning.

- Flares, smoke bombs and firecrackers will be outlawed at all sporting events, not just on match days but up to 24 hours beforehand in the vicinity of the venue.

- Blocks of tickets will no longer be sold to away fans.

- Financial relations and co-operation between clubs and organised fan groups, the Ultras, will no longer be tolerated.

- Preventative stadium bans will be extended to minors, with community service obligatory for offenders.

- Suspected hooligans can now be arrested 48 hours after the incident rather than the current 36, while the punishment for resisting public officials will increase from a minimum of five years to a maximum of 15 years.

- Clubs are urged to create a staff of stewards to police the fans, but there will be heavy fines if they employ someone with a criminal record for this role.

- The minimum capacity for stadiums required to comply with the regulations of the Pisanu bill will also be lowered from 10000 to 7500. Some arenas had reduced their capacity to 9,999 to avoid making the changes.

- Evening matches will also be prohibited for the rest of February, so all games must be played in the afternoon.

- Journalists are asked to set a code of ethics that they will police themselves so as to not inflame public opinion around sporting events.

Several clubs have asked for at least their season ticket holders to be allowed in even if their stadium does not pass the inspection, but that issue will be decided after another meeting on Thursday.

Source: C4 Football Italia

Amateur Leagues open doors

The Amateur Leagues, youth team championships and five-a-side football will resume as normal from tomorrow.

While Serie A, B and C are still waiting to hear when their games will be able to begin again – and if fans will be allowed into the stands – this move is a positive step from the FIGC and CONI.

The first event to be affected is the world famous Viareggio Youth Tournament, which kicked off today in its 59th edition behind closed doors, Maccabi Haifa beating Fiorentina 2-0.

It’s still not clear when the main Championships will be able to kick off, but it’s reported that play will resume this weekend from the Week 23 fixtures and that for a few weeks all games will kick off at 15.00 Sunday.

Women’s football has also been given the go-ahead after Friday’s rioting in Catania prompted the immediate suspension of all calcio activity in Italy.

"We heard of this news and felt great joy, opening the doors to fans and above all talent scouts on the stands," said organiser Alessandro Palagi. "From tomorrow we will play for the people, the kids and for sport."

The opening tie between Brazilians Santos and Milan was called off along with the other first day matches.

Source: C4 Football Italia

Ticket ban satisfies Zamparini

Palermo President Maurizio Zamparini has backed the proposal to ban the block sale of tickets to away fans.

The Italian Government is set to confirm the introduction of various new football security measures following the death of Filippo Raciti on Friday.

Among the many proposals is bringing an end to the block sale of tickets, designed to avoid large groups of visiting supporters organising trips to away fixtures.

"I hope this measure will be useful," Zamparini told Sky TG24. "If there are no visiting fans there should be no need for police to be at the stadium.

"This absence might also decrease the violence inside some of the most fanatic groups, who see the police as their enemy.

"In any case, these criminals must be punished adequately after they are arrested, otherwise all this will never change."

Zamparini added: "We mustn’t forget that supporters today can choose to watch the matches on TV, that was not possible in the past.

"The tickets cost so much also because of the increased expenses that clubs have to face for the security inside the stadiums.

"The Italian Government earns a lot from football thanks to the taxes we pay and this must not be forgotten now that new regulations are needed."

Source: C4 Football Italia

Moratti has San Siro doubt

Inter have admitted that they are unsure of whether their home Champions League games will be open to fans.

The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza may be closed for the immediate future given that it currently doesn’t meet with the Legge Pisanu standards and this may also affect European competition too.

"We will see, we will have to face one problem at a time," Nerazzurri owner Massimo Moratti commented on Wednesday.

"There is actually no risk in Milan, but this is another situation we will have to follow because of the new regulations."

However, the city’s sports councillor Giovanni Terzi is optimistic that the San Siro won’t be deserted when the European Cup resumes later this month.

"The San Siro is a safe venue and UEFA has also confirmed this," he noted. "We have agreed to new measures which will further improve security at the stadium.

"We are optimistic that tonight’s cabinet meeting will give the green light for matches to be played regularly at the Milan stadium."

The San Siro is currently not included in the list of stadiums which could host matches should new legislation be approved this evening.

The Milanese arena, which is also home to Milan, is still struggling with its pre-filtering system and only has 55 turnstiles rather than the 160 it should have.

Inter will play Valencia in the last 16 of the Champions League, while Milan have been paired with Celtic.

Source: C4 Football Italia

Galliani in fight for fans

Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani has confirmed that the Lega Calcio will ask for all season ticket holders to be permitted entry into stadiums.

There is a risk at present that fans will be forced to stay at home given the likely introduction of tough new safety measures, which could see dozens of arenas up and down the country closed to supporters.

However, Galliani has revealed that the League clubs are hoping that season ticket holders will not be punished as a result of Friday’s night’s Catania riot which resulted in the death of a policeman.

"We will ask the Government to allow season ticket holders access to stadia," said Galliani this afternoon ahead of this weekend’s likely Serie A restart.

"They do not represent a problem, the real problems are the stadiums and not who uses them," added the former Lega Calcio President.

"However, if it is decided to play behind closed doors then we will – it's not a decision that Inter and Milan can make."

San Siro is one of the stadiums which does not fully comply with the Legge Pisanu and could therefore see its gates shut for the immediate future.

"Inter and Milan have paid £14m in advance for the necessary work to be carried out at the San Siro, but it will not be finished before October," he added.

"The Stadio Meazza is very large and 160 turnstiles have to be set-up. This cannot be done before the end of the season and we cannot do anything to change this."

However, Milan police official Gian Valerio Lombardi has admitted that the stadium could re-open to fans with the introduction of a limited capacity.

There is also the possibility that Milan and Inter’s Champions League ties could also be played without the presence of supporters.

Source: C4 Football Italia

San Marino hope for harmony in Italy

San Marino coach Giampaolo Mazza is hopeful today's Euro 2008 qualifier with the Republic of Ireland will go some way towards restoring peace in Italian football.

Although the Republic of San Marino is autonomous, the sad events in surrounding Italy over the past few days have appreciably not gone unnoticed.

The violence that erupted during the Serie A game between Sicilian neighbours Catania and Palermo on Friday, resulting in the death of a policeman, has had a profound and widespread effect.

Football in Italy has been indefinitely suspended, although such a ruling does not affect San Marino, where football life goes on.

"Fortunately in San Marino we don't have this kind of problem like they do in Italy," said Mazza ahead of the game with Ireland at the Serravalle Stadium.

"Italian football doesn't need this kind of problem. It needs more than this for the players, fans, everybody. But if you have this problem then football dies.

"Obviously the people who live in San Marino are fans of Italian football and the Italian national team, and we hope the matches are played again as soon as possible."

Source: Sporting Life

Moratti satisfied with new laws

Inter chief Massimo Moratti insists the Italian game is now on the right path to combating football violence.

Football in the peninsula looks set to resume this weekend – if confirmed by a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday – and Moratti has applauded the proposed new measures designed to clean up the game.

"The decision to resume playing immediately has not been made out of the interests of the clubs, but for the fans," said the Nerazzurri owner.

"I think that the laws that are being proposed are the right ones, this is the path to follow.

"We will obtain the results we are hoping for if there is a strong cooperation between every component of the footballing world.

"I don’t think these laws will distort the championship, refereeing mistakes distort it much more. Now we just have to work together for the common good of this sport."

Minister for Sport Giovanna Melandri has reiterated that only stadiums who satisfy the Legge Pisanu will be permitted fan entry.

Currently only the stadiums in Palermo, Rome, Turin and Siena fit the bill, but Moratti believes that supporters will be allowed to enter the San Siro for the big match between Inter and Roma, which could take place in mid-April.

"I really don’t think it will be played behind closed doors because the stadium in Milan should be fine," said the oil tycoon.

"The decision to ban fans would be okay for a short period, but it cannot be a regulation that lasts forever."

Source: C4 Football Italia

Napoli chief threatens strike

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has attacked the Government over their proposals to eradicate football violence. "Clubs could go on strike," he warned.

Italy’s top two Divisions look set to resume at the weekend after Friday night’s riots in Catania, but the proposed new measures means that a host of games will be played behind closed doors.

Clubs whose stadiums do not meet with the specifications of the Legge Pisanu will be forced to lock out fans and only four stadia in Serie A (Rome, Palermo, Siena, Turin) and one in Serie B (Turin) currently fit the bill.

De Laurentiis, after the crisis talks between Government and football authorities on Tuesday, said: "If there are no security guarantees then why should we play?

"Clubs might decide to go on strike. I don’t think the Government should be so superficial while facing a problem as important and vital for Italy such as football.

"We should claim damages from the Italian Football Federation, the Italian Olympic Committee and the Government itself. They were unable to develop the world of sport in an appropriate way.

"This is fascism. We cannot be told what to do and forced to play or not."

The Government and footballing authorities are going down a road in which they hope clubs will own their own stadiums, but De Laurentiis insists that would be financially problematic.

"Clubs do not have the money needed to do this, it has to happen progressively," added the movie mogul.

"I cannot believe that you need to invest £107m to be allowed to host four Euro 2012 matches. Everyone must understand that we don’t need to build cathedrals in the desert."

Most stadiums in Italy are owned by councils who then rent the grounds to clubs for their own use.

Source: C4 Football Italia