PDA

View Full Version : The reason i will NEVER travel to Italy for an away game...


Its only Ray Parlour
08 Sep 2003, 06:27 PM
A friend of mine is a Newcastle season ticket holder and he reported much the same things about the Inter fans, i warned some Arsenal fans about going to Inter away for or CL match but i'm not sure how many took my warning.

Anyway this is an article from a Welsh supporter after their game against Italy in the san siro (Guissepe Meazza).


"Let me put my cards on the table – I love Italy, its climate, its food, its language, its culture, its people. I have been going to football for nearly 3 whole decades and have never hit anyone. Neither have I bottled, spat upon, vomited upon, masturbated in front of or pissed upon away fans. Never seemed all that necessary, really. Maybe I’m old-fashioned. I even love(d) the Azzuri, one of the world’s most admirable sporting outfits. Sadly, no more. I may never travel away again.

So much for context, and so much for la dolce vita. If the FIFA world rankings were for fans, Italy would be bottom of the league, or shipped to a different galaxy. If Wales fans had ever (ever, even once) behaved like the despicable hundreds of expectorating, phlegm and urine-projecting Italian cowards we had to endure in the bowels (and I use that word advisedly) of the Guiseppe Meazza on Saturday evening, this correspondent for one would have stopped going many years ago, ashamed.



Twenty-seven years (and counting) of attending football matches all over Eurorpe, even in so-called lesser-developed countries, and I saw things in Milan I never want to have the misfortune to witness ever again. The country that gave birth to the ’27 Club travel officer’s chic Italian daps heaped shame and deserved opprobrium upon itself, in a sustained and vile display of animalistic baseness that none of the 8000 travelling Welsh tifosi will ever, ever forget. Thanks Italy, we really, really hated what you did to us. Let us hope that at least some of your compatriots are ashamed of you because the guilty ones really were the scum of the earth. They will never get their come-uppance though, partly as no-one in the world would ever be that uncivilised in return, and partly because those clowns never travel away. Much too dangerous.

Strangely it was a lovely weekend in a beautiful country, spoilt only by the uptight rudeness of Milanese hoteliers, and the assembled ranks of low-life scum (believe me this is no mere hyperbole) who shed so many gallons of assorted bodily fluids all over colourful, singing, excited and peaceful travelling Gallese. It was an absolute disgrace, and the only legitimacy any of the filthy animals had was that lent them by the assembled ranks of the lazy, useless Carabinieri, who looked the other way when they were not laughing in our faces.



Blessed with one of the most stylish and successful footballing sides in the history of the world, my mind is still trying to compute 48 hours on precisely what possesses people to throw pints of urine over women, children and men many metres below them, knowing that they need not fear retribution from any Wales fans or their own lamentable security forces. How I wish the Police had given them a right good shoeing for us.

The most impressive footballing arena I have ever entered outside Canton will now forever be tainted by the memories, not of Inzaghi, Del Piero, Cannavaro and Nesta putting in masterful performances, but of massed ranks of Nazi salutes throughout the hosts’ own national anthem. Of my back being covered with thick viscous phlegm as we dodged the bottles flying at us during Hen Wlad fy Nhadau. Of cups full of urine being hurled from high above us, onto family groups proud to be present at what was supposed to be a showcase sporting event. Of the man who walked to the front of the Italian balcony and put his fingers down his own throat to vomit heartily over unsuspecting innocent people. I hope he is proud of himself, and telling his family how great he is. Of the people who filled empty water bottles with yet more urine and then hurled them at us, whilst we were unable to reciprocate or retaliate in any way. Grazie mille one and all. We now despise you, you are the biggest cowardly collection of trash we have ever seen (and we have been going since before some of you were mistakenly born).



I have been to over 300 football matches, including 65 internationals, and these people were the saddest attempts at humanity I have ever witnessed. Luckily they weren’t around after the game, or they might have found out. Innocent women and small children with bleeding head wounds, people feeling violated, soiled. Well done, big boys. We did nothing to you in Cardiff (but then you weren’t there were you, too busy hiding at home behind your mothers) and we did nothing to you in Milano. Do that against a more pugilistic set of away fans, and your precious Duomo and Scala might have been demolished. Then again, maybe you’ll be more quiet when the big boys come to town.

For the record, the 1927 Club was still able, outside the confines of the Scum Siro, to have its usual hugely enjoyable Wales trip. Lengthy epicurean sojourns in Bologna, Como and various Milanese satellites enabled us to appreciate that Italy has some of the finest food, countryside, culture and, frankly, men and women in the whole of the world. It also has an Ultra-culture that is endemically extremely racist and violent, even against non-combative innocents (hell, especially against them).



Questions should be asked at the highest levels (but won’t be) about why they are allowed to do that – for two whole hours – in front of the Police and, ironically, in the presence of one of the most powerful media moguls in the entire world. Maybe Berlusconi should apply to the Football Trust to get some TV cameras put in there. Where’s the perpetrator? Well, there’s 3000 there for a start, like that one pissing on the head of the child underneath him.

Wales now face a challenge to secure at least a play-off spot for Portugal. The team, down almost to bare bones, looked punch-drunk for the second half, and it will be down to us to lift them in the remaining games. It would be hard enough for us to raise ourselves, were it not for the fact that we have just been through one of the worst violations of peaceful fans’ rights ever seen in Europe, and this was no eastern European backwater. I for one will redouble my efforts to lose my voice singing the boys home.



All genuine Italian tifosi should be sick to the pit of their stomach, as their poisonous compatriots have, perhaps irreparably, soured Welsh perceptions of calcio-culture. As we now try to dust ourselves down, literally, I for one dread the day we ever play Italy again, especially if it were to be in Portugal.

To all the kind, intelligent and civilised Italians we met, thank-you. As for the rest, you should be ashamed, you are the worst human beings we have ever met. Our hitherto hugely enjoyable qualifiers have now been tainted, and we wash our hands of you, you sick disgraces. "


I guess this is the price you have to pay after English hooligans ran riot across europe in the past. The Italians have been out for revenge ever since the Heysel disaster.

Real pity. Mindless idiots.

Its only Ray Parlour
08 Sep 2003, 06:38 PM
"Meazza Broken
Italy 4 Wales 0

Is there a country in the world less deserving of a fantastic football team than Italy?

Well, yes, there's one beginning with 'E' and it's not Eritrea.

But for two hours in Milan, our hosts shared top billing with the worst football fans in the world. Make no mistake, this was the worst display of sustained hooliganism this fan has witnessed in more than 600 matches. No doubt there was some Billy Bollocks from Bryntirion who misbehaved and not every Welsh fan is an angel. But I and others can attest is that Welsh fans were on the end of disgraceful treatment.

And this is why:

1 In the tier above the Welsh fans behind the goal, the Italian national anthem was accompanied by scores of fans giving the fascist salute. After the partisans shot Mussolini in the countryside maybe they chose to hang his body in Milan's Piazzale Loreto. Maybe this was to make a particular point to people in the city.

2 Many fans present were spat upon, or hit by bottles of water, juice and urine thrown from up to a hundred feet above.

3 In an unique display of piggery, Italian rapscallions were seen to stick their own fingers down their throats to induce vomiting. Needless to say the bile didn't end up in the Italian upper section, but in our section.

4 The police generally took a step back (though others may tell you different) and weren't especially unfriendly. But this meant they ignored naughty Italians inside and outside the ground. At the end I saw one fan spit over the balcony towards us. He stood next to a policeman who pushed him but made no attempt to arrest him.

5 Your correspondent, his sister and a pal were among scores of people chased outside the ground by a gang of Italian hoodlums. The sound of shattering glass followed us down the street. My pal Phil was only ten yards from a hooligan wielding a metal bar. If this idiot had struck Phil he would have been attacking an Englishman who is the father of three Italian children and who has worked in Milan for the past five years. Fortunately we were able to escape from the scene without injury.

6 Not so fortunate was the 15-year-old son of Maesteg acquaintance. On his first Wales trip he went to the loo outside the ground where he was struck over the head with a bottle. Luckily this did not draw blood. He was also punched. His father, on trying to intervene to protect his son, was then coshed by an Italian copper, but not seriously hurt. He says he saw fans wielding knives. The 15-year-old, and dad, missed the game as he needed hospital treatment.

7 Another friend's wife was hit by a coin which drew blood from her face. Plasma pouring from the wound she endured a frightening period in which she was not sure how serious her injury was. Medical staff at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium cleaned up her face to discover a small cut on her face which, again fortuitously, could have been much worse.

8 If British fans had behaved as the Italians did in a British ground police would have had good cause, and rock-solid legal case, for arresting literally hundreds of people. This is fact. If you were to make Nazi salutes and throw objects at, say, Rotherham's ground, you wouldn't expect to see out the entire game. You would be nicked. You would probably be on CCTV. Case closed.

Though this might read like an anti-Italian tirade, it is not. It is not sour grapes. Anyone who has seen more than four Wales away matches has almost certainly seen us get embarrassingly stuffed. We don't do sour grapes otherwise we would be permanently sour. This is what happened.

In fact can I just point out that many locals were friendly, if a bit overdressed (and smug)?
And if you're, female, blonde with long hair and aged 20-35 please get in touch as I'd be quite happy to marry you. Bought the ring already. If you're one of the girls who wears thigh-high boots on a night out, I'll throw in a honeymoon to Rio (you'll have to keep the boots on 24 hours a day, mind).

All the above I either witnessed or was told by people who are trustworthy and have no axe to grind with Italians. I know they are not hooligans. I didn't see the self-induced vomiting but was told separately of it by three people, who do not know each other, at different times during the weekend. I certainly believed it happened.

All this fan can offer is a snapshot. Speak to anyone coming back from Milan and you'll no doubt have several more stories to stir into the pot. Some nastier, some blaming the police - perhaps rightly perhaps wrongly, I can't make much of judgement on that one. But I can say I didn't witness a single Welsh fan being aggressive without having being provoked or intimidated or chased.

What hurts is that many fans on this trip were watching Wales abroad for the first time. They ranged from two-year-olds to an 85-year-old taken to Milan after recently learning that he has terminal cancer. For the first time that I can remember there were more than 20 women on the trip. Many of these people will not go again, that's for sure.

We certainly did not deserve any of this. What also hurts is not so much the scoreline, which some of us were expecting, but details like the fact that so many Welsh fans made huge efforts to get to Milan. It was a game that was possibly the most eagerly anticipated in the nation's football history. People were asking me 12 month ago where it was going to be played. It was a question regular followers began to dread as no one had the answer. A win, I'm sure, would've assured qualification.

Then there's stuff like the Welsh fans from the supporters' charity Gol making a special match-day trip to a Monza hospital to make a donation to help children suffering from leukaemia. In return, some oik spits on you. All this makes you question why you bother to go at all.

And there's the match itself. For 50 minutes it was fantastic, overcharged atmosphere. You could almost feel your spinal cord pulsing with excitement. A great game, the best I'd seen us play abroad in 15 years. The goals came and the reality of the treatment some people were receiving started to hit home. Sometimes the adrenalin drowns your perception of what else is happening. Goalhanger Inzaghi struck and suddenly the focus became the horrible home fans. Ninety five per cent weren't all horrible at all of course but many in the tier above us, and dozens lurking outside, were.

The Welsh support in the face of all this was magnificent, genuinely awe-inspiring. Something that will live with me until I die and brings a frog to your throat. We were able to taunt the Italians with 'You're supposed to be at home' early on and most of the first-half singing brought disapproving whistles from lazy locals who could not be bothered to get behind their own side.

Then, the piece de resistance. Despite being 4-0 down, the last five minutes were an extraordinary, raging, passionate affirmation of what it means to be Welsh.

Eight thousand angry, disappointed and abused people conjured up a blistering sonic rebuke. Eight thousand Bryn Terfels would have struggled to match it. It was a metaphorical ************ Off to the gesticulating ratbags and nauseating Nazis queueing up to lean over the balcony to wash us down with spittle and hate while we ogled their fashionista girlfriends (I'm serious about the marriage offer, signoritas). "

jwaldman11
08 Sep 2003, 11:47 PM
That is simply one of the most despicable things I think I've ever read. UEFA should give serious consideration to putting Italy on probation and also making them close off the upper decks in whichever stadium they host their next match in. England gets a bad rap for its fans (and in most cases, rightly so), but the type of behavior of the Italians is among the worst I've ever heard.

Jeff L
09 Sep 2003, 04:59 AM
I am now really looking forward to my trip to see Arsenal play Inter Milan in the "Champions League"!!
It will be my third visit to that stadium and the fifth game that I have seen Arsenal play in Italy.
A lot of what has been written I have also witnessed but not to that degree.
However dispite what has been written, in my opinion, it still leaves the Italians trailing behind the Greeks. Particularly PAOK and "Pani".
However, "top of the league" must be the Turks, and even I have no intention of going there to watch football.
Either for Arsenal or England.

Its only Ray Parlour
09 Sep 2003, 06:44 AM
Take an umbrella with you, you have been warned.

TheFallen29
09 Sep 2003, 10:06 PM
I'm truly sorry to hear that...that's a disgrace to anyone who follows the beautiful game.

But hey, at least you know how our national team feels every time they go to Honduras or Costa Rica or Guatemala for a WC qualifier.

juice013
11 Sep 2003, 07:53 PM
I somehow doubt that the USMNT or any of its travelling supporters face that level of abuse. Absolutely disgusting. I hope those people (and I use that term loosely) never live to see Italy win a major international trophy.

Bluto11
11 Sep 2003, 08:17 PM
There was an article in 442 about the Italian ultras and how the Italian security had no clue what to do. Some fan ran onto the field during a Serie B match and punched the opposing teams goalie and knocked the guy out and ran back into the stands. He didn't get caught.

Catfish
12 Sep 2003, 02:55 PM
Europeans always seem to yell that us Yanks are uncivilized and obnoxious nederthals....RIGHT!

I'm so disgusted that these "people" still exist and the fact that the Italian authorities don't want to do anything is even more pathetic.

I'm all for yelling and cheering for your side and booing the opponent, but violence, spitting, and other vile acts are just childish and have no place in organized society.

Common sense people...ie. I'm at my 1st Chicago Fire match in Naperville...in the insane world of Section 8. Whenever the opposing GK booted the ball during the 2nd 1/2 right in front of us, people said, "you suck ars H@ole!" I said it once and then realized, there are tons of little kids and families sitting all around us. Would I want my daughter hearing that, HECK NO!!!

TheFallen29
13 Sep 2003, 02:29 PM
Juice,

I absolutely do believe it. As I read that article about the Italians' shocking behavior, it read EXACTLY like one I read about the USMNT's swing through Central America.

Fans who act like that, whether they be in Europe, Central America, South America, right here, anywhere...they're not fans...they're animals. IMO, they should be locked away.