Translated material
Sicilian attack
Italian football championship suspended due to death of policeman
This morning, at an emergency meeting, the Italian government must find a way out of the crisis provoked in the country by unrest after the Catania - Palermo football match. As a result of clashes between police and fans, one law enforcement official was killed, more than a hundred people were injured, several football officials resigned, and the national championship was suspended indefinitely.The riots broke out on Friday evening during the opening match between the two clubs this season. “Catania” before this game was in the top five teams, “Palermo” is confidently in the top three, claiming a place in the Champions League. So the Sicilian derby between the two teams promised to be the event of the 22nd round of the Italian Serie A. But hardly anyone expected that this event would be discussed throughout Europe.
It all started when the Palermo team failed to enter the Angelo Massimino stadium at Catania. They were not allowed into either the start of the match or the second half, after which the fans went on an assault. The signal to him was a goal scored by Palermo on a foreign field. To bring the situation under control, the police used tear gas, which seeped into the stadium and mixed with smoke from fan firecrackers. The players of both clubs were forced to hide in the locker rooms, and the spectators remaining in the stands were not able to leave the stadium.
The match resumed only after 25 minutes with the score 1:0 in favor of Palermo. However, Catania soon scored a return goal - Caserta, taking advantage of the fact that the smoke over the field had not yet cleared, hit the opponents' goal with a long-range strike. However, it was far from a peaceful outcome. A few minutes before the end of the meeting, Palermo scored the second goal. And the fact that Di Micheli did this, helping himself with his hand, caused additional indignation among Catania fans, who were dissatisfied with the refereeing in other episodes. The riots broke out with renewed vigor and spread to the streets of the city.
Soon it became known about the victims: 38-year-old Filippo Raciti, an employee of the local police department, died. The policeman was sitting in his car when he was hit in the head by a rocket fired by one of the fans. He died an hour later in a local hospital, and Rakiti's death led to tougher action by law enforcement. As a result of clashes between police and fans, more than 100 people were taken to the hospital. The fact that two-thirds of them are police officers only indicates that there were more victims - fans, fearing persecution by the authorities, were afraid to seek official medical help. But still, 14 people (most of them minors) were arrested. However, according to the police, there are no murder suspects among them.
The Commissioner of the Italian Football Federation, Luca Pancalli, has decided to immediately stop all matches of the national football championship at all levels. "Italian football is stopped because it's not football anymore, it's not even a sport," said Pancalli, who also canceled Italy's match against Romania next week. - We are talking about criminals who should not get into stadiums at all. We must respond harshly and take strong action. One day is not enough. Without decisive measures it is impossible to move forward at all.”
Pancalli's emergency measures were supported by the Ministry of the Interior and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. “Matches will not resume until emergency measures are taken,” said Interior Minister Giuliano Amato. “The government has taken a firm position,” Prodi commented. “On Monday morning, Interior Minister Amato and Sports Minister Melandri will meet and discuss proposals that will then result in long-term measures significant enough to radically change the situation.”
Even the Vatican did not ignore the unrest in Sicily and the cancellation of the national championship matches. “This is a wise decision and I hope that the ban on matches will not only apply to this Sunday,” said Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, who commented on football matches on local television when he was archbishop of Genoa. “I would say that everyone should be invited, maybe even forced to think, to meditate, to reconsider their own lives, to repent.”
The first repentance, however, has already happened. Catania executive director Pietro Lo Monaco has resigned. “I heard that a policeman died, there is no use talking about football now,” said Lo Monaco. - This is the end for me, I am leaving the world of football. I don't want to be associated with this world anymore. I loved football incredibly, but now it seems absurd to me.”