Saying Goodbye

By: Martha | November 14th, 2007

Mourners.

Gabriele Sandri’s funeral was held in Rome today, attended by friends and family and thousands upon thousands of people who didn’t know him, from Francesco Totti, the entire Lazio team and Rome Mayer Walter Veltroni, to football supporters from all over the peninsula, clad in scarves and hats, displaying their team colors. Most of them stood in the rain outside the church, chanting for “Justice” singing Lazio songs, and waiting for their chance to pay tribute when Sandri’s coffin left the building.

There was not a policeman in sight.

Scroll down for the more recent news; this post is updated with new developments.

•The indispensable Spangly Princess offers a summary of the arrests so far, including the troubling information that one of the Interisti taken into custody in Milan has ties to Forza Nuova, the far-right group that was so involved with what happened in Catania in February.

•A gallery of the graffiti that has gone up since Sandri’s death. The slogan “1000 Racitis” has been appearing all over Italy, and means the obvious: 1000 more policeman will die.

•About 100 Lazio Ultras marched from the funeral to the Olympico, where they gathered under the Curva Nord for a moment of silence and what sounds like a lot of singing. So far, everything has been peaceful. (Added 910am EST)

•Fascist and/or Roman salutes outside the funeral. (Added 920am; edited 1035am EST)

•The FIGC will have a day of meetings tomorrow to define the conditions under which Serie A will resume a week from Sunday; public safety is the obvious goal. (Added 940am EST)

•Spangly Princess went to the funeral. (Added 11am EST)

•The people in both cars involved in the incident that led to Sandri’s death have been interviewed by the authorities; they have testified that there wasn’t more than a heated argument between the groups of fans, and it seems the car of Juve supporters may even have been gone by the time Sandri was shot. Additionally, the autopsy has confirmed that the bullet that killed him came from a point level with his head, suggesting that the stories told by the police are false; at the moment the charge facing the shooter is still manslaughter, but that could change. (Added 145pm EST)

•The Italian government have announced the creation of an agency “dedicated to football stadia;” a primary goal will be bringing the grounds to modern standards. Despite losing out on its bid to host Euro 2012, the government still has €20 million set aside to upgrade the grounds around the country. (Added 455pm EST)

•Atalanta chairman Ivan Ruggeri is disgusted by the lack of support from other administrators for his strong response to Sunday’s events (he’s said he wants to close the home Curva forever), and is threatening to close the club down entirely in protest. (Added 500pm EST)

•All eight of those arrested during the trouble in Milan on Sunday have been released; one received a stadium ban. (Added 500pm EST)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15

•It’s been widely reported that Luigi Spaccarotella, the man who shot Sandri, will be charged with murder rather than manslaughter, despite his repeated insistance that he didn’t aim at the victim. (Added 830am EST)

•The FIGC have confirmed that Serie A will resume after the international break, as scheduled. Update: Channel 4’s article has now changed; the restart is NOT officially confirmed. (Added 1000am; edited 1250pm EST)

•Supporters of the following Serie A teams are banned from their team’s away matches during Round 13: Atalanta, Catania Milan, Roma, Sampdoria and Torino; a decision has not yet been made regarding Napoli. (Added 1250pm EST)