ITALIAN FOOTBALL registered yet another black moment last night when Italy’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Serbia in Genoa was abandoned after only five minutes of play following violent disturbances by a small number of Serbian fans.
Scottish referee Craig Thomson was left with little option but to take the players off the field when a smoke bomb thrown by the Serbian fans narrowly missed the Italian goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano.
Following a day marked by a series of minor violent incidents in downtown Genoa, the atmosphere at the Luigi Ferraris stadium last night became very ugly well before kick-off. A small number of the 1,600 Serbian fans took to throwing smoke bombs and petards onto the pitch, delaying the kick-off by half an hour.
At one point prior to the kick-off, the Serbian players made their way across to their own fans and appeared to applaud them whilst making a “three finger” gesture which Serb ultra-nationalists understand to mean Greater Serbia.
Neither that gesture by the players nor the fact that a large contingent of police in anti-riot gear lined themselves up in front of the Serbian fans managed to calm the situation.
Despite the presence of the police, the Serbian fans continued to throw objects onto the pitch during the five minutes of play. When one petard narrowly missed Viviano, the Italian goalkeeper immediately abandoned his penalty area, making it quite clear that he had no desire to remain in the firing line.
After waiting for two or three minutes to see if the fans might calm down, referee Thomson decided that the conditions were simply not safe enough for the match to be played.
To some extent, last night’s disturbances did not come as a total surprise. In recent days, various commentators had predicted that a small core of hard-line ultra nationalist Serbian fans were intent on causing problems in Genoa both for “socio-political” reasons and also because they were still angry with their team following a disappointing 3-1 home loss to Estonia last Friday.
The first choice Serbian goalkeeper, Vladimir Stoikovic, was not in last night’s team, having declined to play following violent threats made to him by Serbian fans outside his team hotel in Genoa yesterday.
Furthermore, the Serbian team bus was attacked by angry Serbian fans on the way to the ground last night. Meanwhile, any doubts about the political sympathies of the Serb fans were dispelled by banners such as “Kosovo Is Ours”, displayed at the stadium.
As for the football, Uefa will obviously sit in judgment on last night’s sad happenings. Italy will probably be awarded a “board room” victory and three points, whilst the Serbian Federation could risk a heavy sanction, including not just a pecuniary fine but also a ban from future international competitions.
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