Italy’s soccer fans rebel against political correctness

There are great and historic "tensions" (read: "contempt") between Northerners and Southerners in Italy and the Soccer barons seem to have decided that they are just the people to fix that:  Arrogance on a truly Leftist scale

In a country not known for its political correctness – not least among politicians – an excessive display of zeal by Italy’s football federation has enraged fans and risks leading to most top-flight Serie A matches being played in empty stadiums.

The federation stunned Italy’s leading clubs this week by ruling that AC Milan, owned by the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, should play its next home game on October 20 before an empty house as punishment for chants by hardcore fans, known as “ultras”, in last Sunday’s match against Turin’s Juventus.

“We are not Neapolitans,” the ultras chanted against their northern rivals. In Italy’s football lexicon, this translates as, “We are not thieves” – an oft-repeated dig against Juventus, which was stripped of its Serie A championship titles in 2005 and 2006 for match-fixing.

In applying its sanction and a €50,000 fine, the Italian federation, FIGC, deemed this to be “territorial discrimination”, a new category of offence added to a list of racist and ethnic taunts that Uefa, the European football association, recently ruled should be punished by a stadium ban.

As long as anyone can remember, Italy’s fans have hurled insults at each other – and enjoyed it. “Juliet is a tart,” declared one banner waved by Napoli’s fans in a game against northern Verona, where tourists flock to the balcony made famous in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

In a splendid display of unity among rival fans that has put FIGC in a corner, “ultras” from Inter Milan, Juventus, Genoa and others are warning that they intend to engage in “territorial discrimination” at the next round of Serie A matches – defying the federation to close their stadiums, too.

Even Napoli’s ultras have defended their right to be insulted. In a display of self-irony, fans of the light-blues chanted “Napoli cholera!” and unfurled a banner challenging FIGC to silence them, too.

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