***1 he Italian Olympic , Committee (CONI) decided to suspend domestic sporting competition for the first time since World War Two after 24-year-old Genoa supporter Vincenzo Spagnolo was stabbed to death in clashes before a game with AC Milan.***
ROME Feb I So ci er hooliganism mice called the English disease, has taken root in Italy to such an
extent mat me Killing ol a tan last Sunday outside the Marssl
■ Stadium in Genoa was almost a death foretold, reports Reuter
Italy s great stadiums will remain eerily silent next Sunday as the nation seeks to atone for the killing by endtir ing a day without sport.
'1 hope that it will be of some use. If we don't find a way of stopping the mad men. the delinquents, then well have to pack up for good.' said Gianni Rivera, a former Milan star and now a member of the Italian Parliament.
Weve reached the point where we've really got a serf ous problem on our hands, added Rivera, a star of the game in the 1960s and 1970s.
Police have arrested Milan supporter Simone Barbaglia. 18. In connection with the killing and he is expected to be- charged with unpremeditated murder
The death of Spagnolo was the fourth violence-related fatality at an Italian soccer match since 1979.
In November, the deputy police chief in the northern town of Brescia underwent emergency surgery after he was stabbed in the abdomen by rioting Roma fans. He was one of some 200 police officers in-' jured in clashes at matches this season.
The week after the Brescia attack, supporters of Lazio attacked police at the Olympic Stadium during the derby, with Roma in scenes broadcast live on television around the world.
Sunday's-suspension of the sporting calendar will salve the collective conscience but will clearly not turn sinning fans into saints overnight.
We don t have much time
'available When we resume tn two week-- we want lo have achieved something concrete." said CONI president Mario Pescante
The Italian authorities, worried al evidence of links between rowdy fan* and extreme right wing political groups, approved a package of measures to clamp - down on the hooligans before Christmas.
But ihe package has.run buo problems in Parliament where a Senate (upper housef committee has ruled that a measure obliging rowdy fans to report to their local police station on match days is unconstitutional.
4 don’t think the constitution was designed to protect delinquents. We clearly need sharper legislation such as they have In Britain.” said Rivera.
The ex-MUan and Italy star said tlje clubs and the soccer authorities had allowed fan violence to fester, "Were paying the price for years of permissiveness." he said.
Clubs are accused of enjoying a cosy relationship with groups of "ultras" (diehard supporters), sponsoring their trips to away matches and giving them batches of free tickets in an attempt to ensure their loyalty.
’ Gazzetta Dello Sport. Italy's leading sports daily, has urged clubs to cut all ties with the hardline fan groups and make it harder for supporters to attend away matches.
"We could even reach the point of restricting access to the stadium to season ticket holders, or maybe selling mini-season tickets for a' particular
group of maU he*. ' It wrote
CONI'* Pescante »ald Italian soccer authorities had contacted their English counter parts for advice on dealing with the hooligan problem.
Undercover British police infiltrated and broke up sev eral hooligan gangs In the late 198Os and the use of close circuit television in stadiums has since kept the lid on the problem.
The Milan fans involved in the fatal attack tn Genoa last weekend clearly also looked to England for their inspiration.
The gang was known as the arbour boys" — after the greqp English country squire's Jacket they wore as their uniform.
The absence of any colours linking them to Milan enabled the gang to evade police controls. a tactic employed by the 'casuals" who terrorised English soccer a decade ago.
The English example shows that there are no simple and swift solutions to soccer hooliganism.
Rivera’said Italian youngsters needed to be educated to take part actively in -spdrt themselves.
"We have a fan culture but not a sporting culture. Children should be encouraged to play sports themselves rather than let off steam on the terraces." he said.
Pescante hopes a Sunday without soccer will help calm the hysteria produced by the weekly matches and the media hype which surrounds them.
"I want to appeal to the newspapers and - television: There's too much shouting about soccer, too much criticism. Were all to blame." he said.