On the pitch, last weekend Roma gave a perfect response to the disappointments of the last week with an accomplished 3-0 win against Sampdoria, with Mattia Destro in particular answering many of his critics with a well-taken brace. In the stands though, things were a different story as the supporters continued inflammatory anti-Neapolitan chants despite the partial closure of the ground.
The crux of the issue lies long before last weekend. The rules about territorially discriminatory chants have already been changed twice this season, but even after the alteration to the law in October, the Gazzetta dello Sport still commented that “territorial discrimination, unlike the far more odious racial discrimination, is a difficult thing and is open to any type of interpretation and exploitation”.
In fact financial sanctions for territorial discrimination have been in the law books since 1994, but the problems began when the FIGC made it also punishable by stadium closures this season. Then last October, shortly after the adjustment to the rules, Roma were given a one-year suspended sanction of the closure of both curve for anti-Naples chants during the league meeting between the sides at the Olimpico. This was then imposed in addition to a further one-match ban for the chants during the recent cup clash, meaning the curve would be shut for two games – against Sampdoria and Inter.
As a protest at this decision before kick off on Sunday night, the Distinti Sud area of the stadium repeated the chants that had resulted in the curve being closed (“Vesuvius cover them with fire” and “I hate Naples”).
“Better a closed curva than a tamed curva,” stated one banner outside the Olimpico, while another one inside the ground implored, “There’s no true Roma without its fans, reopen the curve”.
Fans in the Monte Mario stand applauded the Distinti Sud’s chants before kick off (including noted journalist and former club press officer Daniele Lo Monaco), and after Destro opened the scoring the Distinti Sud started to sing “Vesuvius wash them with fire” again. In truth the repeated chants are more of a protest against the authorities’ decisions than anything else, as both the club and the fans are making a firm stand against what they perceive to be ambiguous and poorly designed regulations.
However the wrangle is starting to tarnish the club’s image as one that does not court controversy with referees and authorities and could even hurt the team on the pitch if the fans continue to cause parts of the stadium to be closed. Protesting against incoherent and ill-implemented rules is all well and good, but is likely to cause more harm than good given the improbability of a further rule change in the near future.
One of Roma’s real grievances lies with the fact that while chants against Neapolitans have been acted upon, others have gone unpunished. For instance, club general director Mauro Baldissoni cited the home supporters’ chants about “Roman bastards” during Napoli-Roma and the “we’re not dirty Romans” banner in the San Paolo to the appeal courts last weekend. Other chants that refer to the Superga tragedy have also gone unpunished, as were Fiorentina’s fans after they sang “we hate Bergamo” (the equivalent when Roma sing about Napoli has instead always been picked up by the Giudice Sportivo) and “Bergamasco, piece of ****” against Atalanta earlier this season.
While many chants are directed at the Neapolitans (not just from Romanisti), one banner previously unfurled by Napoli’s supporters highlights the attitude towards the territorial discrimination/jibes/insults (call it what you like). After Milan fans were banned from the San Paolo for calling Partenopei fans “cholera sufferers”, the home fans produced a banner that said “[We are] cholera sufferers. Now close our curva!”.
Baldissoni insists that the issue does not lie with the fans though, saying at a book presentation on Monday that, “it’s a problem with the system, not the supporters. It’s a problem with the football authorities and with who is in charge at the moment”.
The words came on the back of his comments before the Sampdoria game, when he said, “it’s hard to comment on the grotesque situation that Italian football is in. The rules are also considered to be questionable by [UEFA president Michel] Platini – their application has proved to be inconsistent and the punishments are incomprehensible. We can manage these sorts of episodes if the situation is credible, but we’re not at that point yet”.
However the problem shows no sign of letting up. The Giudice Sportivo have since fined Roma another €80,000 and ordered the Distinti Sud (the area that had repeated the anti-Naples chants during Roma-Sampdoria) to be closed for one game. As it stands, Roma will now have three sections of the ground closed for the next home game against Inter in 10 days time. Next Tuesday the High Court will decide on Roma’s appeal against the closure of the curve for the Inter match.
As poorly implemented as the rules are and having made their protests against them, Roma’s fans need to stop the chants to ensure they are actually able to support the team. “We need the support of our fantastic fans”, Francesco Totti wrote on his blog. “Playing in front of empty curve is not the same – I hope the fans won’t compromise the possibility for them to be close to us from now until the end of the season”.
The captain’s feelings were echoed by Baldissoni as he left the High Court on Tuesday, saying, “it’s clear the rules aren’t well defined and are applied in a questionable way, but it’s also true that Roma needs its own supporters and to deprive ourselves of them could start to become self-defeating”.
Whichever way the High Court rules next week though, it is clear that the real problem (not the fans, not the clubs) will not be resolved until the legislation is reviewed again and clarified so that everyone knows where they stand.
