The ANNOTICO Report

Yob: Definition: "a young man who behaves in a very rude, offensive and
sometimes violent way"

In the mid 70s there was a popular British Heavy Metal Band "The Boys", who
in 1977, went into dispute with their record company and decided to
rearrange the 'B' and 'Y' and bootlegged themselves as The Yobs and became
the alter-egos of  The Boys. The Yobs resurfaced briefly in 1991 and again
in 2000. They were most noticed for embracing Nazi Symbols and being
sacrilegious about Christmas.

20Years ago in 1985, football hooliganism was fundamentally an "English
disease", causing such ugly side-effects that our clubs were banned from
European competition for six years.It was a long and painful recovery but
now crowd violence is much reduced, but still evident.

The Ultras - are an Italian creation, and while also intensely loyal
section of hardcore of fans, they do not engage in the "random" acts of
violence of the British Hooligans, they  instead, are extremely well
organized, and engage in well "orchestrated" violence that whether it be in
the stadium or elsewhere can, and do exert huge influence over the way
clubs are run.

Leading members know where the players, the coaches and officials live and
have even been known to use the threat of reprisals to achieve their aims.

The Ultras have a sizeable following and their interests extend far beyond
football. There are estimated to be as many as 60,000 Ultras in Italian
football.

SISDE, the Italian police's intelligence gathering unit estimate 10 per
cent are believed to be attached to far-right or far-left political groups,
in at least 300 supporters' groups.

>From my reading of the article, it seems the political influence is
overblown. 10% of  60,000 is 6,000, and divided by 300 groups, is 20 per
group. Right?

However, the problem, may now seriously threaten Italy's bid to host the
2012 European Championships.

By Raoul Simons,
Evening Standard
April 4, 2005

Twenty years since the Heysel Stadium disaster and it's role reversal for
English and Italian fans. In 1985, football hooliganism was fundamentally
an "English disease", causing such ugly side-effects that our clubs were
banned from European competition for six years.

It was a long and painful recovery but now crowd violence is much reduced
inside Premiership and Football League grounds, with the British
authorities praised for their no-nonsense approach to troublemakers.

But the same cannot be said for developments in Serie A, where critics
claim a laissez faire attitude from the powers-that-be has contributed to
the rise of the Italian yob.

Though other parts of Europe, such as Spain and Germany, also have mounting
problems, the most worrying trend has surfaced in Italy, where Tuesday's
Milan derby became the third game this year to be abandoned due to crowd
trouble. A further dimension is the suggestion that much of the trouble is
highly organised and, in some instances, politically motivated.

Flares and other missiles rained down onto the pitch at the San Siro midway
through the second half of the European Cup quarter-final, with one
firework striking AC Milan goalkeeper Dida.

Observers believe it was a premeditated attempt by the "Ultra" wing of
Inter supporters to have the game stopped once their team had no chance of
winning.

Inter's owner, Massimo Moratti, is under intense pressure from supporters
over the club's lack of silverware in recent years and there are some in
Italy who believe the trouble was a staged protest against his leadership.

The shameful scenes - which the Milan police are now investigating - follow
on from widespread football violence - in Rome, Florence and Palermo - last
weekend which left 85 police officers hurt and more than 250 people
arrested.

Earlier this season, the Rome derby was abandoned after fans battled with
the police, while the Champions League clash between Roma and Dynamo Kiev
was scrapped when referee Anders Frisk was struck by a coin.

This upsurge in trouble has prompted Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu to
threaten stadium closures as a hardline response to the problem, which now
seriously threatens Italy's bid to host the 2012 European Championships.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who also owns AC Milan, added:
''There is a risk of even more serious events occurring, a risk that has to
be stopped in every way.

"We will continue to take a tough line. I have asked minister Pisanu to
dedicate himself to preventing further incidents and, if necessary, taking
drastic measures."

However, seasoned observers of Italian football insist they have heard such
rhetoric before only for decisive action to founder when confronted with
the power of the Ultras.

Lazio, for example, were fined just £17,000 after their extremist fans
indulged in fascist chanting and displayed swastika banners during last
weekend's game against Livorno.

The Ultras - an intensely loyal section of hardcore of fans - can exert
huge influence over the way clubs are run. They are also synonymous with
football violence.

Leading members know where the players, the coaches and officials live and
have even been known to use the threat of reprisals to achieve their aims.
It was noticeable, for example, how no Inter players came out publicly to
condemn Tuesday night's trouble.

The ease with which flares were taken into the stadium has also been
questioned, which could again be traced to the Ultras. One theory is that
police are unwilling to risk confrontation with them for fear of trouble,
while another suggests that fans given access to the stadium in the
afternoon to erect banners brought in and hid boxes of flares.

The Ultras have a sizeable following and their interests can extend far
beyond football. There are estimated to be as many as 60,000 Ultras in
Italian football, 10 per cent of whom are believed to be attached to
far-right or far-left political groups.

Even the Italian police acknowledge that much of the country's football
violence is politically motivated.

A spokesman for SISDE, the force's intelligence gathering unit, said: "Fans
are getting more and more violent and they are looking to attack the
police. Our latest intelligence suggests that there are at least 300
supporters' groups who have extreme right- or left-wing political
connections following Italian football.

"There is a real risk that this escalating violence will have a serious
effect on the traditional place of football in Italian life. These groups
are well organised and also well financed. They fund their travels through
the sale of memorabilia but more increasingly through crime."

In Britain, banning orders and significant investment in intelligence-led
policing have helped cut football violence. Now the Italian government will
try to follow their lead. Yet there will be those in English law
enforcement who will question why it has taken them so long.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/football/
articles/17924356?source=Evening%20Standard

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