The FIGC will no longer hand out immediate stadium closures to clubs whose supporters are found guilty of offensive chants that constitute ‘territorial discrimination’.
Bans for ‘territorial discrimination’ were a controversial issue during the 2013-14 Serie A season as AC Milan, Roma and Inter fans were all found guilty of offensive chants towards Napoli fans and some Partenopei supporters stood up for the rights of rival fans to insult them as many felt the law was heavy-handed.
According to SportMediaset, Carlo Tavecchio’s FIGC have modified Articles 11 and 12 of the code of justice so that clubs found guilty of ‘territorial discrimination’ will no longer be hit with an immediate stadium closure.
Article 12 that was responsible for dealing with “offence, denigration or insults related to territorial origin” has been removed entirely.
Individual clubs will continue to be held responsible for the conduct of their supporters and fines for breaches of the code remain on the statute book.
Tavecchio has said the decision was made to “avoid drastic measures” and to promote a system of “more thoughtful intervention” from the authorities in dealing with offensive conduct in the stands.
