[Idyllchat] Untour and Sports

[Jay Cloidt]

Actually, Britain is now the standard by which stadium safety is judged.
These are the standards that were enforced during the last World Cup in
Germany which had no incidents. The country with the biggest problem with
hooliganism right now is Italy. There are a small group of fans called the
"Ultras", I guess as in ultra-fan, that cause all sorts of problems, on top
of Italian bureaucracy which has prevented the upgrading of stadiums.

To give an example of this, the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal this year
between Manchester United and AS Roma pitted 2 teams with very strong
followings. There is a large organization of Ultras in Rome. When Manchester
went to Rome, Roman fans threw things over the fences at the Manchester
fans. When the Manchester fans shouted back, the Roman police beat at least
a dozen Manchester fans with clubs. On the return leg in England, the Ultras
tried to cause trouble on the way into the stadium, and within 5 minutes the
Manchester police had the trouble makers in custody.

If you will notice, there is a theme here. The hooligan problems are largely
centered around club teams, not national teams. In Summer 2008, the
tournament being held is the UEFA European Championship also known as Euro
2008, not the UEFA Champions League. This is the European national team
championships that take place every 4 years, 2 years offset from the World
Cup. The Champions League is the European Club championship and takes place
every year. The Euro 2008 tournament should be a great time, sort of a
mini-World Cup. If you are a soccer fan and can get tickets, I would
encourage you to go. You will see soccer being played at its highest level.

That said, here are some quick safety guidelines for watching club matches
in Europe:

1) Be aware that home team fans and visiting team fans are segregated. If
you want to go see Chelsea play Tottenham at White Hart Lane (Tottenham's
home field) and you are a Chelsea fan, you should get tickets for the
visiting fans section which will be sold by the Chelsea ticket office. This
is true of any of the major leagues in western Europe (England, France,
Germany, Spain, Italy, Scotland, the Netherlands, etc.). It is a UEFA
requirement for the top divisions in those countries.

2) In England and Scotland, visiting fans will generally take over a pub (or
several) in the area of the stadium for the before and after parties. The
home fans already have their regular pubs. If you want to check out this
scene, make sure it's the pub that supports the team you do. If you don't
care who wins, then just support the team everyone around you is. You can
usually find out this information from the Supporter's Club websites.
There's usually a link to them from the teams website.

3) Unless you really know, or have a friend who really knows the local
soccer scene in Italy, I would avoid going to matches there. Most of the
situations are safe, but unless you know it, you won't know if you are
walking into one that is not.

4) Eastern Europe has the fastest growing incidents of hooliganism in
Europe. Unless you have a local who can guide you, I would avoid going to
matches there.

5) There is rampant racism in Spain, some parts of Italy, and especially
eastern Europe. This is largely directed at the players on the field where
there are many players from Africa playing at the top level. It's shameful.
I personally think this is the #1 issue that FIFA and UEFA need to be
working on.


I hope that helps,

   Jay
   a Hibernian fan, Go Hibees!

On 5/27/07, Vance Roy <gigli.saw at dplanet.ch> wrote:
>
> I agree with Harold. There have been several public disturbances here
> especially after Luzern plays and wins. Last week, the Zurich
> authorities limited beer to 3% alcohol being sold around stadiums and
> none allowed to be carried into the stadium. Their event was just
> short of a Sunday school party. I expect this to become more and more
> the norm.
>
> For the events in the World Cup next year, I expect the borders to be
> closed to any of the known hooligans from elsewhere.
>
> There is plenty of soccer on TV here, and the only people you must
> worry about are those in your living room.
>
> On 26. Mai 2007, at 17:25, Harold McLeod wrote:
>
> > I would urge caution in attending a UEFA soccer tournament.
>
> Vance Roy
> gigli.saw at dplanet.ch
> http://homepage.mac.com/fredch
> http://www.eyefetch.com/fredch/blog.aspx
>
> Old is when you're napping and everyone's worried you're dead.
> AJC Vent
>
>
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