The Mixer

Unless you are completely disinterested in football or have been living under a rock with really poor Sky TV coverage, you will know that tomorrow sees Manchester United face Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in European football’s showpiece event – the Champions’ League Final.

Media hacks, pundits, fans, even current players are collectively licking their lips at the prospect of the “pure final” between these two footballing powerhouses. However, off the pitch Manchester United fans will be preparing themselves for an altogether different kind of battle. English football fans intending to travel to Rome will immediately be apprehensive about doing so.

For those who don’t know, the last decade and beyond has seen a spate of violence, muggings, stabbings etc. occur whenever English teams visit Italy’s capital.

Here are a few examples:

In 2001 after Liverpool defeated Roma a number of fans reported that the home team’s “Ultras” (“fans” to give a loose definition for the layman,) had subjected them to a series of knife attacks.

In 2006 after Middlesbrough visited Roma’s neighbours Lazio, a number of Boro fans were also attacked by Ultras-again carrying knives.

In 2007 Manchester United fans were seen on television clashing with Italian police inside the Stadio Olimpico.

In 2009 two Arsenal fans were injured after their coach was attacked by Ultras in the lead up to their side’s Champions’ League Fixture. After the same game another Arsenal fan was stabbed.

I am not here to debate the ins and outs of who attacked whom and why, as frankly, only those involved in the incidents would ever be able to truly know what went on.

What I would like to think about is this: UEFA market this competition and its final as their showpiece – the jewel in their crown. This tournament is, in some people’s eyes, as big as, if not bigger than, the World Cup itself. So why on earth would they want to hold the final at a stadium with such a chequered past?

Manchester United fans have been warned not to travel to Rome, warned which areas of Rome to avoid and even warned off using certain modes of public transport to get to and from the game. How can UEFA claim that Rome is a “low security risk” when visiting fans are being told that it is not a safe place to go by their own parliamentary authorities? You would think that, after the farce seen in Athens in 2007, with poor security and out of control fans, that UEFA would be doing everything they could to avoid any other controversies on and off the pitch. Yet this is spectacularly not the case.

Why have Rome and Italy been afforded so many chances?

There are some that allude to Italy being traditionally the golden goose of European football, meaning the authorities are loath to upset them. There are those that talk of an “anti-English bias” within UEFA, claiming that if this happened in England our clubs would be punished and punished harshly. There are many other conspiracy theories and counter-theories circling the drain that are too numerous to mention.

In addition to these theories, there are some that view it as UEFA giving a country so passionate about its football a chance to enjoy a massive occasion. A chance, after the entire match fixing scandal that has blighted the Italian game, for a country to remember why they loved the game in the first place.

Personally I am dubious about the whole “anti English bias” theory. Admittedly, given certain quotes from Monsieur Platini and his sidekick, the loathsome William Galliard, about English football and its clubs, it is easy to see why some people have jumped to this conclusion. On the flip side of the coin, we have to ask why we feel England would be more harshly punished. The simple answer is the old cliché of “give a dog a bad name.” English football was rife with hooliganism, racism and violence all throughout the 70s and 80s. This led unsurprisingly, to all English clubs being banned from European competition for a lengthy period of time.

English fans have been arrested at countless international tournaments and sent home, again for rioting and violence. Is it any wonder that we fear the worst when punishments are dealt out for such things? We have, after all, made our bed so to speak.

I would temper this point slightly by also highlighting the great strides the English club game has made since the dawn of the Premier League. Racist taunts are virtually a thing of the past, and the hooligan element of the 70s and 80s is seemingly dead in the water. The police and the authorities have become much better equipped to deal with these problems to the extent that other countries have sought their consultation when hosting major tournaments.

To say that English fans are no saints and should not point the finger at the Italians rather fudges the issue somewhat.

The fact remains that nobody is perfect, and every country has a lot of work to do to ensure that a football match is a safe and enjoyable environment for all concerned. However, UEFA’s stubborn stance, and refusal to acknowledge that Italy, and Rome in particular, has any level of threat or danger is of great concern. Even more so when one considers the plethora of examples to the contrary, a few of which I mentioned above.

I hope I am proved wrong and no trouble arises. I hope there are no reports of any of the fighting, the muggings or the knife attacks that have been so prevalent in previous fixtures in Rome. If, as I suspect the case will be, there is a repeat of these behaviours, then surely, surely UEFA will at last have to take some action at last? Given UEFA’s track record though, I doubt anything would be done to improve the situation at all.

My advice? Start following a more gentlemanly sport. Like bowls. You never hear of a stabbing at a bowling green after all.