The sickening scenes of violence which led to the abandonment of the Champions League quarter final between AC Milan and Inter this week made particularly uncomfortable viewing for English football fans of a certain age.
There was an uncomfortable but unmistakable familiarity about the cocktail of outraged and despair which coursed through the body as the flares and missiles rained down on the AC penalty box while Inter fans let rip. That was repeated the following evening as, even sat in front of a television set 1,400 miles from the action, one could sense the underlying tension and threat of violence in Turin as Liverpool battled for the result against Juventus which would take them into the semis.
It was familiar to all of us who grew up planning the safe route in and out of football grounds to avoid the aggro which was a routine part of the English game from the 60s through the 80s. It was familiar to many of us who shed a quiet tear on the night of the Heysel Stadium disaster. You didn’t have to be there to cry but it would be disingenuous now to suggest that the tears were shed entirely out of grief for the loss of 39 Italian lives.
In part they were shed out of self pity because even as events unfolded, we knew that Heysel represented a watershed and that it could kill the game we had been brought up to love. We wondered whether it could ever be the same again.
As it was, the subsequent ban on British clubs – which had a significant impact on the quality of the game in England – has been largely forgotten. While it would be foolish to suggest that the problem of violence in English football has been extinguished for good, the facts speak for themselves.
In the Premier League, some of the best new soccer stadiums in the world are generally more than 95 per cent full. Fans turn up for games proudly wearing replica shirts, without fear of reprisals. In the 70s, we wore scarves which could be whipped off and stuffed in a pocket if one came across a group of opposing fans at a railway station or on street corner.
I have a 14 year old son who has sat next to me at games since he was seven. From time to time he’s been scared rigid by the performances of the team but he’s never once been frightened at or travelling to a game – home or away.
But this week it all came tumbling down again.
In Milan the clock was very visibly turned back 25 years and UEFA , will meet today to decide upon a suitable punishment. Having got Jose Mourinho out of their system its time to face up to issues which really matter and they really have no option but to ban Inter Milan. When a game in Rome had to be abandoned earlier this year after a coin throwing attack on referee Andrew Frisk, they made AS Roma play subsequent games behind closed doors. That clearly wasn’t a harsh enough penalty to spread the word to fans of other Italian clubs.
But a European ban on all Italian clubs would be an over reaction at this stage. To its credit, the Italian government has already stepped in and announced a range of measures which will involve clubs forfeiting league matches if their fans misbehave. That’s likely to get to the heart of the issue more directly than the British government’s abortive attempts to deal with the problem by introducing identity cards
Football, and in particular the Champions League, needs Italian clubs but football doesn’t need the sort of thing we’ve seen this week. If left unchecked it will start to erode the edges and then the very heart of the game and, inevitably, ultimately have financial repercussions as brands begin to re evaluate their relationship with the sport.
Banning all Italian clubs would certainly hit domestic broadcasters hard. While it is accepted that the performance of local clubs and athletes is one of the key drivers of television audiences, the effect is particularly marked in relation to Italian broadcast of the Champions League.
In the course of compiling commentary for Eurodata TV’s upcoming report One Year In TV Sport, it became clear that the most pronounced decline in rating was to be found in Italy where the 7.8 rating for 2003/04 was barely half that of the previous year. That, of course, was more or less unique year. Two Italian clubs, Juventus and Milan, won through to the final in Manchester, but there had been three Italian clubs in the semi final stage. Consequently they attracted massive rating for each meaningful game along the way.
Last year, the Italian clubs failed to meet expectations and the ratings slumped spectacularly.
The heritage and style of Italian clubs in Europe make it easy to make an emotional case for their continued inclusion. Every other club loves the big games against Juve and the Milan teams and relishes the opportunity to take their scalps.
But in this case emotion has to be put to one side while the reality is dealt with. And that surely has to mean a ban of at least a season for Inter pour encourager les autres.
