11/05/24
January 31, 2006
Soccer Team Must Play at Empty Stadium: Its a short article, but its got a lot to think about.
posted by chemwizBsquared to soccer at 12:54 PM - 14 comments
I suppose some would say you shouldn't punish the team for the actions of some of the fans, but really what choice do you have sometimes? Maybe not getting to see their team at all will cool them off. Besides some team leaders have a strong influence on the fans like Elway several years ago when he denounced rioting fans in Denver as not being "true" fans of the team.
posted by commander cody at 01:31 PM on January 31, 2006
I like this punishment. It is what should have happened to the Detroit Pistons.
posted by jmbraun773 at 01:38 PM on January 31, 2006
this happened in the mexican soccer league last year. while i was there, i caught the highlights to the game on espn deportes. it looked like a jv game with no spectators in the stands. i think instead of punishing all fans of the game, play the game in the visitors home stadium. this would be a more severe penalty and at least someone would get to watch the game
posted by erkno11 at 01:46 PM on January 31, 2006
Also happened to one of the Italian clubs (Inter?) in last year's Champions League after a fan threw a cigarette lighter and hit a ref in the head, drawing some blood.
posted by billsaysthis at 03:18 PM on January 31, 2006
What I want to know is why this stuff happens in the first place? I have yet to hear about KKK signs at a football game, say at U of A. Or, even, of widespread brawuling at a Yankees/ Red Sox game. For all of the times our euro friends scratch their heads at some of the things that go one here, they have just as many "WTF?" moments.
posted by blakrain at 03:26 PM on January 31, 2006
I have yet to hear about KKK signs at a football game, say at U of A. Crazy stuff like this tends to happen at lower level sporting events: minor hockey or baseball, independent leagues, etc. Example
posted by grum@work at 03:34 PM on January 31, 2006
What's a bit funny about this particular one is that AS Roma are often portrayed as the team of Rome's Jewish community, especially at matches through the use of anti-Semitic chants by opposing fans. In the capital, Lazio has tended to attract the neo-fascist 'ultras' to their games (see article). However, this just proves that Nazi nutters know no bounds.
posted by owlhouse at 04:05 PM on January 31, 2006
Yeah there is lots of fascist and anti-semitic graffiti at the Lazio stadium. I like erkno11's idea about playing at the visiting stadium
posted by autzenrocker123 at 07:29 PM on January 31, 2006
BTW the yankees and red sox had brawls in july 04 and october 03
posted by autzenrocker123 at 07:30 PM on January 31, 2006
well said erkno11, the game should be played at the visitors stadium so "somebody" can watch the game.
posted by chuy at 11:15 PM on January 31, 2006
Why not use this punishment for other teams in other sports. I mean, there are some pretty unruly fans. I could see this used in a college atmosphere...such as moving home games away from stadiums (Who watched the Colorado/Nebraska game back in November where the fans section went bonkers?) Sure, in the world of large TV markets it would suck, but why not try it out. When fans are that misbehaved, they don't DESERVE to see their team play.
posted by chemwizBsquared at 07:42 AM on February 01, 2006
I have yet to hear about KKK signs at a football game, say at U of A. Or, even, of widespread brawuling at a Yankees/ Red Sox game. American fans who think this kind of stuff only happens "over there" aren't paying attention. Sports championships here are often followed by riots. There also are some rivalries in pro and college football where visiting fans receive a lot of abuse and fights are common.
posted by rcade at 07:43 AM on February 01, 2006
I must say the article surprised me somewhat. Not because it revealed that some Italian fans are Nazis but because I thought it was Lazio who were the major culprits. This kind of punishment is not unusual, in Italy at least. Also some of the club teams in ex-communist states have been forced to play games behind closed doors for similar offences. Mainly associated with European club competitions if my memory serves me correctly.
posted by squealy at 08:12 AM on February 01, 2006
This is pretty common punishment for badly behaved fans in the soccer world. Is there really much to say about the Nazi aspect of it?