Breaking: Travels Bans for 15 Clubs, Azzurri to be Kicked in Glasgow

By: Martha | November 15th, 2007

So sad. [Posts on the death of Gabriele Sandri and subsequent events are collected here; this post is being updated with the latest news. It's been announced that Luigi Spaccarotella -- the shooter -- will face murder charges.]

First and probably most importantly, as long as you’re not tender-shinned Scotland-killer Luca Toni, is the news that the FIGC have banned the supporters of 15 clubs across all divisions from traveling when play resumes, presumably after the international break. The six Serie A clubs affected by the bans are: Atalanta, Catania, Milan, Roma, Sampdoria and Torino, along with Bari and Cesena in Serie B and a handful of Serie C clubs and two amateur sides; so far, these are the only concrete actions to come of the meetings going on all day today. In theory, all of the bans are connected to the behavior of the supporters on Sunday after Gabriele Sandri was killed, which explains the shocking news that, while a decision has not yet been reached regarding Napoli’s visit to Catania, it’s possible their supporters (banned from traveling for weeks) could be allowed to make the trip.

Second and much more painfully, the Scots have revealed their game plan for Saturday’s match: Kick the crap out of Italians. Seriously. Said Scotland’s admirably frank Kenny Miller, “We respect them for the good players that they are but at the end of the day if you have to kick them, you kick them … You have to try to put your stamp on a game and get the upper hand … And if that means putting a few tackles in and upsetting a few people then that’s what you do.” So, wait — what’re you going to do, Kenny? Damn.

I suppose if nothing else, that will give us a chance to see a post-game press conference in which Italians get to talk about someone else playing anti-football, for once.

Edit: In addition to Napoli’s, the jury is still out on the Lazio-Parma match, as well.

Some Related Serie A Posts:

Category: AC Milan, Azzurri, Catania, Roma, Rumors & News, Sampdoria, Serie A

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Ian

There's a sick little part of me that loves sitting back and watching pre-match shit talking. It's hilarious. All Scots do is sit in front of the net and hope for scoreless draws. All Italians do is look for opportunities to fall down in the penalty box. Neither is true, but it really is entertaining to read. Mon the Scots!
bib

You should change your name to broken record Smurf..We are all well aware of the problems plaguing the Italian game these days but that is not the issue here so cut the crap. Why don't we let the game happen first instead of assuming the Italians are going to roll around on pitch all game I'm sure in between diving and simulating there will be some football played but maybe your pea for a brain doesn't allow you to process that. I don't know where your bitterness comes from, maybe it's an inferiority complex on your part.
Chris Murphy

Banning travel seems to be glossing over the problem of Ultras having too much influence. I fear that it will take a Hysel/Hillsborough level tragedy to get things changed :(
Smurf1873

just waiting for the usual Theatrics from the Italians throwing themselves to the ground when a scots player so much as looks as them in a shifty manner - is such cheating really so indemic in the italian game - from watching Italian teams in the Champions League over the past few years it is - we need a strong ref for this game who won't put up with the Italian impersonations of B rate movie starts - it's a mans game , play it like men or go take up golf or some other non-contact sport - you have the talent to win without resorting to falling over yourselves - but i bet you don't use the talent to win !!!
Ian

Kenny's a physical player, so he'll probably back that up. The Scottish game, when our teams actually allow themselves to play the Scottish game, is a pretty physical one, so I can't see the Italians being too surprised by this. I don't ever want to see any blatantly unsafe tackles from Scotland, but we should play our game, and our game involves some hard contact.
Martha

There's a big difference between the coach saying it and a player being the one to talk about kicking, though, Marco -- I imagine Miller can say pretty much anything he wants without anyone suing him for inciting a boo to the noggin (or other part) ...
Martha

Pat and anyone else who's interested, I just realized I was looking at the wrong week -- Lazio are home, though I suppose they could be locked out anyway, if the league wanted to do that. Also, I just found this and will added it to the post:

"For the Lazio Parma match, the watchdog has postponed its analysis of risk parameters until it has more recent information."
Marco

The last time someone tried telling his players to "kick their opponents" it didn't end very well for him. I wonder what FIFA have in store for dear Kenny Miller...
sofia

kick them? is he serious...wow...damn matrix had to miss this game!!! ohh wait its all good we got rino gattuso out there to break some ankles:)
mele419

If you can't find a match on tv, check http://www.myp2p.eu. They have multiple live streams of everything you can imagine, from football to baseball, american football, everything.
Martha

Sorry, Laurie, I'm a huge liar -- I see GolTV is showing Spain-Sweden both of which, last time I checked, are in Europe. (Scotland-Italy, though, really is on RAI and ESPND.)
Martha

Mele, I share your sorrow at the absence of Matrix where kicking is concerned.

And, Gabriel, you're definitely NOT alone in that sentiment, I've read predictions in several places that he'll be out after the Faroes no matter what -- can you imagine how that would feel? "YAY WE DID ... What? I'm ... Oh."
Martha

The mere phrase "anti-football" is entirely idiotic, in my very humble opinion. And it's definitely not on GolTV Laurie, I don't think they show internationals, and definitely not European ones. If you have any foreign channels, it's on RAI International and ESPN Deportes live; Setanta broadband will be showing it on delay.
Laurie

Where is the Scotland-Italy game being shown? It was supposed to be on JumpTV, but now it's not on the list. Is it GolTV? Don't tell me it's GolTV. That's the ONE channel I have absolutely NO access to. Will somebody post some Sopcast links or channels?

And as a France fan I find the whole "who plays the most anti of the anti-football" argument kind of amusing. That said, I am expecting a nil-nil draw.
Vin

:/

That's just great (about the kicking). So the Scots are going to come at us hard, and they cry foul when our guys go down when they're kicked.

Ugh.

I hope Luca Toni is a real pain in the ass for them.
mele419

Ah I wish Matrix was healthy so he could break a few Scottish ankles ; ]
Martha

I found that odd too, Pat, they seem to have somehow avoided getting arrested or otherwise caught causing trouble on Sunday.
patcook

How are Lazio fans being let travel? I think there should be a blanket ban at least for a few rounds.
JT

Italy should really beware of a bad tackling striker like Kenny Miller. If he's going into the match planning to be aggressive, there may be chunks of skin on the pitch. The way I see it, the Italians are going to flail around like they're being chopped off at the knees no matter what, so you might as well actually do it.