A CEREMONY IN CATANIA

Exactly nine years ago, I wrote about this sad incident.  It is a story that has stayed with me, partly because it was an avoidable tragedy and also because I will never forget the television pictures of Inspector Raciti's then nine-year-old son in police uniform at his father's funeral.

Much has since been said and written about the events in Catania of 2nd February 2007 and Inspector Raciti's colleagues have continued to honour him. Yesterday's commemoration in Catania - which took place as the rest of the city was preparing to celebrate its patron, Sant'Agata - was a little different, however, for during the ceremony the Inspector's jacket and helmet [which he had been wearing on that terrible night] were at last returned to his widow.

Dignitaries and police officers from the State Police Mobile Units of Catania, Reggio Calabria and Palermo, representing police from all over Italy, attended the ceremony and remembered other colleagues who had been killed in the line of duty.

Let us hope that the return of the above effects to the family brings them the comfort they seek.

IN THE NAME OF "SPORT"

By now, footage and reports of the horrific events which took place in Rome in the name of "sport" on Saturday evening have gone around the world. Even here, amid conflicting reports, it has been hard to ascertain exactly what happened, who started it and the timescale, but what is certain is this:

Ahead of the Italian Cup Final between Napoli and Fiorentina on Saturday, there were clashes between fans outside the Stadio Olimpico and three Napoli supporters were injured, one critically. Italian newspapers reported this morning that this fan, Ciro Esposito, may, if he survives, lose the use of his legs. Inside the stadium, the kick-off was delayed because of these events and Napoli captain Marek Hamsik and the authorities appeared to be "negotiating" with the Napoli ultrà leader known as Genny 'a carogna, who is said to have given his "permission" for the game to start. The authorities say they were not negotiating but were informing Genny 'a carogna of Ciro Esposito's condition.

Eventually, and in the presence of Prime Minister Renzi, the Italian national anthem was booed in the stadium and the game started.

This much, as I have said, has been reported internationally. However, I can find no international press reports about the t-shirt that Genny 'a carogna was wearing, nor of the heartbreak that this has caused a Sicilian widow:  The t-shirt slogan read "Free Speziale", a reference to Antonino Speziale, who is serving time for the murder of Sicilian police inspector Filippo Raciti in 2007 during an incident of football violence. Marisa Grasso Raciti told Corriere della Sera that the State seemed to have given in to the will of violent fans on Saturday and that the whole incident was an insult to her husband's memory. She is, understandably, particularly upset by the t-shirt and said that no one in authority had called her to express solidarity or sympathy. As you may imagine, she received a telephone call from Prime Minister Renzi shortly after publication of the interview.

In case anyone is interested, Napoli won the match.

I wrote about the murder of Ispettore Raciti here and here in 2007.

Thanks to Corriere della Sera for making this available:

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.