To Decrease Violence, League Demands Relentless Cheerfulness
By: Martha | March 23rd, 2007
Most of the rule adjustments that have come about as a result of the tragedy in Sicily earlier this year have been executed with the clear goal of making fans safer, whether by increased surveillance, more careful screening, or tighter control of access to the grounds. The latest, however, is a little different — it seems the league is trying to legislate the moods of fans, hoping that by telling them not to be mean (”Don’t drive angry!”) they’ll make everyone slip into a state of sublime bliss. Yeah, that’ll work.
The central element of the mood-altering rule is this: “Insulting” banners will no longer be allowed into grounds. Period. What defines “insulting,” you ask? No idea. While there is a history of brutally offensive, racist banners in Italian football (and cracking down on those has been too long in coming), “insulting” is such a broad terms that it includes not only extremist banners, but also those that say things like “How can your mother love someone so ugly, Ibra?” and “Ronald(o) McDonald’s.” Are those banned, too?
As far as I can tell, no one knows — drawing the line is entirely up to the police, who are now required to pre-approve each and every banner that is brought into stadia. While it’s possible that universal standards are being applied, the vagueness of the rule makes that seem almost impossible — it’s hard to imagine it won’t be applied totally inconsistantly across the country, and to questionable end.
We’ll see how it goes soon — the “Be Happy!” rule goes into effect in the first round of games after the international break.
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Comments
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I have little of use to add on this topic, other than to ask if the creator of that Ibra banner is free for dinner tonight… *grin*
Posted from
United Kingdom
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LOL Ruby. I figured that sign was yours, actually.
Posted from
United States
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