The first thing is that things anything like this should not happen to anyone - let alone someone simply travelling to watch a footy match. Second, tarring all Italians as thugs &/or cowards is somewhat extreme...I know some Italians who are neither, & believe me - you wouldn't want to upset them...Thirdly, it is still a likely throw back to the "proud" reputation abroad built by Britons either in connection with travelling to/from football games mostly in years long past (but still current too, I'll bet - but our press just do not report it so much, just like at games here in the UK) - OR the drunken loutish behaviour unashamedly promoted on TV programmes.
None of this excuses it, but I just think we need a sea of change in how we collectively behave abroad before we're collectively welcomed...although these are still probably relatively rare occurrences overall.
I was going to write a big rant about his post but couldn't be arsed.Not being welcomed and having your skull smashed open are entirely different things.
Your statement seems a bit contradictory? Don t tar all Italians with same brush but you understand what happened to the Spurs fans because of a perceived image of the English.
What happened was unacceptable cowardly violence and lets face it if it was Spurs fans there would be reams of posts from the ever self loathing English types.
Sometimes its o.k for the English / British to be in the right and other nationalities to be wrong.
Same, it isn't the typical two set of rival fans getting rowdy with each other. It was an unprovoked, pre planned and organised attack to target the English fansWhat bugs me is that if this was two sets of thugs I d think "you reap what you sow" but this is utter cowardice for which the perpetrators will claim some kind of victory against English "hooligans"
United fans had similar trouble with Roma fans in the CL a few years ago I believe. Though Macca expressed it in a condescending way, English fans are seen as the 'fathers of hooliganism' by the hardcore lot in Eastern Europe and Italy; though we have (by and large) moved on from those days, getting one over English fans is big for some of these people. Lazio should have the book thrown at them just as any other club should for failing to address issues that have been there for decades.
Hey...hang-on! I detest what happened.
What I'm getting at is the "typical Italians" & "cowards" type generalisations. That's likely to simply inflame things for future teams going there.
The vast majority of Brits going abroad are at least reasonably well behaved, just the mindless minority cause a bad attitude toward us. This has happened for years & we do suffer for it & will continue to do so.
The reason I'm a little contradictory on this is because, I don't know if anything happened in the build-up to the attack (does anyone that's posting?). Was a simple "let's get tooled up & attack anywhere we find with spurs fans in"? Or was there more to it? I heard that area is a notorious trouble spot...so it's at the very least an example of needing to do your homework before going on tour - to minimise the chances of getting involved in this kind of thing.
Hey...hang-on! I detest what happened.
What I'm getting at is the "typical Italians" & "cowards" type generalisations. That's likely to simply inflame things for future teams going there.
The vast majority of Brits going abroad are at least reasonably well behaved, just the mindless minority cause a bad attitude toward us. This has happened for years & we do suffer for it & will continue to do so.
The reason I'm a little contradictory on this is because, I don't know if anything happened in the build-up to the attack (does anyone that's posting?). Was a simple "let's get tooled up & attack anywhere we find with spurs fans in"? Or was there more to it? I heard that area is a notorious trouble spot...so it's at the very least an example of needing to do your homework before going on tour - to minimise the chances of getting involved in this kind of thing.
On this I am afraid you are very wrong.
Lazio fans are well known for a very significant facist element. They were whipping themselves into a frenzy that Spurs were visiting them so they could show some of their anti-semetic bilge.
They worship Mussolini and his fascist ideology.
They also worship the clown who manages Swindon - this is where he delivere his "Il Duce" salute.
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