ANOTHER FUNERAL

The funeral of the young man who has become known all over Italy as Gabriele or Gabbo took place in Rome today: Gabriele Sandri, a Lazio fan [admiteddly an ultrà, but that does not necessarily mean violent] was travelling to the Lazio - Inter match in Milan on Sunday with friends when they stopped at a service station near Arezzo. Another car containing Juventus fans drew up and a scuffle broke out. A policeman watching from across the road allegedly fired first into the air and then a second shot was, he claims, fired by accident, killing Gabriele.

"Why, why?" I want to ask. "It's meant to be a game. Why is it necessary to so much as argue about it, let alone fight?" By Sunday evening violence had broken out all over Italy, with police stations being attacked and scenes of unbelieveable destruction around the Olimpico Stadium in Rome. I can understand fans wanting to vent their anger but is that going to bring him back? Is it going to make anybody listen? Of course not. What good anyone thinks further violence will do is beyond me . What gets into perfectly reasonable citizens when they put on their football scarves and acquire this "team" mentality? What happens to them when they join an angry crowd? Perhaps Crushed can explain it to me.

Things are likely to turn even uglier as graffiti demanding "Justice for Gabriele " have appeared near the church where his funeral was held and there was anti-police chanting today. Worse, graffiti saying, "We want another Raciti" have now appeared.

My guess is that, rather like the situation in Britain after 7/7 and 21/7, the police force is very jumpy since the murder of ispettore Raciti in football violence in February [although the shooting of an innocent man in Britain was almost certainly partly due to bungling at a very high level, whilst this appears to be an individual policeman's tragic mistake]. I feel, of course, for Gabriele's family for no amount of apologising by police or State is going to help them. And the other person in my thoughts today is ispettore Raciti's widow, who has said that no one has learnt anything from her husband's death and has called for the closure of the stadiums.

So many lives have been affected by this one moment of mindlessness, which led, it seems, to another of carelessness: one young life lost, the lives of his poor family altered forever and the life of the officer involved ruined, too, as he has said himself. And a woman who, in the midst of her own grief at least hoped that football "fans" would come to their senses, is faced tonight with the thought that her beloved husband may have died in vain. Once again, in Italy, what a waste - for the sake of a game.