The Juventus manager, Max Allegri, has claimed that ‘only a madman’ would take their kids to a football stadium in Italy after their Turin derby defeat over the weekend was blighted by yet more crowd trouble.
Before Torino’s 2-1 victory at the Stadio Olimpico – their first Serie A win over Juventus for 20 years – Torino fans attacked the bus carrying Juve’s players as it approached the stadium, breaking a window. Juventus supporters retaliated by throwing fireworks at their Torino counterparts inside the stadium, injuring several.
It is the latest incident in a lengthy list of crowd trouble in Italy – just this month Roma were ordered to close part of their stadium after fans displayed banners insulting the mother of a Napoli fan who died following clashes between rival supporters last year while black players in Milan’s Under-10 team were allegedly subject to heckling and racist abuse during a match against Paris Saint-Germain.
“I’m sorry [about what happened]. On the pitch we had a match that was fair, manly and compelling,” said Allegri, after watching his side suffer a defeat that means the runaway league-leaders will have to wait a little longer to claim a fourth consecutive Serie A title. “This ought to be important to everyone involved in sports. Unfortunately in Italy we are still behind, and until the responsible parties start to take measures this is how it will be.
“That goes for football but also the country as a whole. We need to improve to bring people back to the stadium and kids first of all, given that only a madman would bring them along with everything that happens today.”
