Chapter 39
The vicious incident of fans breaking into and attacking the players at the Friuli Stadium caused a huge sensation throughout Italy and around the world. A number www.biquge.info of government and non-governmental organizations, including FIFA, UEFA, the European Commission, and the International Olympic Committee, have expressed great concern about the incident and instructed the relevant parties in Italy to fundamentally strengthen the safety of the stadium.
For his part, FIFA President Havelange said: "What happened at the Friuli Stadium is unacceptable and devastating to football. FIFA is highly concerned about this development and sincerely hopes that all parties involved will properly handle the aftermath. FIFA has always attached great importance to the healthy development of football, including everyone involved in football. The safety and security of the stadium will become an important and ongoing topic from now on, and everyone needs to participate and study the treatment plan. The tournament needs to be more tightly organized and orderly, and we will not allow Friuli to happen again. β
UEFA, which has played against FIFA almost every time, has rarely been consistent with FIFA. UEFA President Johansson said: "I deeply regret what happened at the Friuli Stadium. Not long after the Heysel incident, this time in Friuli, there was another vicious incident. This is no longer the normal state of competitive sports. UEFA will pursue the matter to the end and urge member states to strengthen the management of public safety, especially large-scale, congregational events such as sports competitions. β
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, president of AC Milan, also stood up and said: "Football is a sport that brings joy, and on behalf of the Italian government, I strongly condemn the violence at the Friuli Stadium. Football is one of the national images of our country, and what happened at the Stadio Friuli is a serious discredit to Italy's image in the international community, which is intolerable and unacceptable. β
"I will soon convene a general meeting of the Serie A federation to discuss with the participating clubs a plan to deal with extreme fans in Italy and a plan to strengthen the security of stadiums, and formally submit it to the parliament for consideration after the meeting. I believe that no matter how much money is spent, such a move is worth it. The determination of the Italian government and people to fight against extreme fans will not waver and will not waver. We need to give competitive sports a safe environment to develop. β
The incident even caught the attention of the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Samaranch: "The Olympic spirit is noble and sacred. As an official sport of the Olympic Games, football should contribute to the maintenance of the Olympic spirit. I deeply regret the beating incident at the Friuli Stadium. This is not really a competitive sport, it is a crime of the nature of a personal attack. β
"The IOC calls on member states to strengthen the management of public security for gatherings, and in the event of a recurrence of such vicious incidents, the IOC may choose not to include this event in the scope of the Olympic Games, as well as to include areas with similar conflicts in the scope of the Olympic Games, because then we will not be able to guarantee that the groups participating in the Games, including the athletes on the field and the spectators on the field, are safe and protected." The Olympic Games are a bond of peace and the embodiment of the highest level of competitive sportsmanship. β
"We will not allow any act that is contrary to the Olympic spirit and the Olympic Charter, because then the image of the Olympic Games will cease to exist. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) strongly condemns all kinds of acts that undermine sports competitions by extreme means. β
One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the Friuli incident caused a very great repercussion throughout Europe and even the world. Silvio Berlusconi really did what he said this time, and soon, the presidents of the 18 Serie A clubs received a call from Mr. Bei, asking the clubs to send important senior executives to the Serie A headquarters to discuss the aftermath of the Friuli incident and the security work. Of course, the initiator Chen Fei, the owner of the Udinese club, Pozo, and his son Pozzo Jr., are naturally among the names.
The next day, the representatives of all parties finally gathered at the headquarters of the Serie A league, and the Atalanta side sent the Percasi uncle and nephew, Gentille and Chen Fei. Chen Fei finally met all kinds of big bosses who could only be seen in legends before: Inter Milan president Moratti, Roma president Sensi, Parma president Tanzi, Juventus president Agnelliγγγγγγ In short, Friuli's slap brought all the bigwigs together.
Finally, 10 minutes before the scheduled start time of the meeting, the moderator of the meeting, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi, President of AC Milan and Prime Minister of Italy, finally arrived at the venue. Sensi and Agnelli, who were still arguing just now, also stopped and returned to their respective seats. Everyone knows that the main event is about to begin.
"Ahem!" Silvio Berlusconi cleared his throat, "Everyone, let everyone come here, not for anything else, but for the incident that happened at the Friuli Stadium a few days ago that should not have happened. β
"We are here today to jointly maintain the national image of Italy, and we must not allow such a thing to happen on the pitch again." Silvio Berlusconi got straight to the point, "You know, UEFA President Johansson just spoke to me on the phone, and his attitude is very clear, UEFA will instruct Serie A to investigate this matter to the end. Let's talk about it, what do you think? β
As soon as Berlusconi's words ended, Rome President Sensi spoke. As a representative of the southern club, Sensi naturally will not give up this opportunity to suppress the northern club: "For such a vicious incident, I think it should be punished heavily. Udinese will be disqualified from the remainder of this season's Serie A competition, with a 3-0 defeat in all remaining matches and a penalty of a certain number of points will be deducted for Udinese in Serie B next season. β
Although Udinese is not the strength of the northern team, such a vicious punishment will undoubtedly have a huge blow to the football culture in the north. Therefore, as soon as the vicious Sensi finished speaking, before Pozzo could speak, the "oil tycoon" Moratti took the lead in standing up and singing the opposite: "Sensi, what do you mean by this? Rodriguez didn't really break his muscles, although he was slapped in the face. What's more, this matter has been suppressed! The subsequent processing of the site is still good. Although Udinese FC has loopholes in the management of the stadium, it is not so bad, it doesn't need to be so ruthless, right? β
Parma President Tanzi also expressed support for Moratti: "Indeed, Sensi's proposal just now is too harsh. We need to impose some sanctions on Udinese, but definitely not to that extent. β
At this time, what was surprising was that Chen Fei actually stood up: "Perhaps, I shouldn't have done this in the presence of Mr. President, please forgive me for being rude, but I think I have something to say, don't vomit or be unhappy." β
Silvio Berlusconi knows a little bit about the Milan-based lad and was impressed by his radical overhaul from youth to senior in Atalanta. This time Chen Fei wanted to speak, but Berlusconi was very tolerant: "Okay Chen, this incident is also inseparable from you, you can tell me what you think." β
"Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister."
"First of all, this series of events was caused by my youthful vigor and made Udine fans mistakenly think that I was provoking them, for which I apologize and am willing to accept the relevant punishment of Serie A."
"What I need to say is, first, we need to carry out strict security checks on the fans entering and leaving the stadium, and this time the good thing is that the murderer did not enter the stadium with a murder weapon, and if there is, it will be a big problem."
"Second, in order to avoid a repeat of Heisel's tragedy, the distribution of tickets must be handed over to the clubs of both sides of the competition. In particular, it is important to ensure that there is a sturdy and permanent separation device between their grandstand area and the home team's grandstand area, so as not to smash things and hurt people like Heissel. β
"Thirdly, riot police will be set up at key locations such as behind billboards in the field, at the entrance of the players' passages, and at the connecting points between the stadium and the spectator stands, as well as in key areas of the stands. Fans are restricted from engaging in behaviors that may cause violence on the pitch, such as overstepping their seats, using provocative and abusive language, vandalism, etc., and fans who engage in such behaviour will be removed from the stadium separately in advance. β
"Fourth, strengthen the identification work at the entrance of the staff and other places to prevent extreme fans from mixing in from the staff passage and other places."
"Finally, I would like to say that I very much support the views of Mr. Moratti and Mr. Tanzi that against Udinese FC there must be no excessive penalties. That's all I have to say first, please forgive me for being rude, and thank you. β
Chen Fei's words made all the bigwigs present fall into deep thought. Indeed, the several plans pointed out by Chen Fei will definitely be able to immediately improve the security capabilities of the stadium. It's just that these measures are not cheap to implement, and will the club's bigwigs be willing to do this?
At this time, the first one to stand up was Agnelli! "Chen is right, these things really need to be taken care of. Especially the staff passage, every time I go in, I don't care about the documents at all, and it's easy to get in! There are also special police, they can indeed intervene to protect the court, otherwise someone will always rush down, and this game will not be played? β
"But wouldn't there be ordinary fans who felt nervous?" Craniotti asked rhetorically.
"Don't worry about this, on the contrary, they will feel down-to-earth, as long as they don't have ghosts in their hearts, what are they afraid of?" Berlusconi, the host of the meeting and the other half of the Holy Alliance, spoke, "I also think what Chen said makes sense!" Anyway, on behalf of AC Milan, I would like to make a statement that we will actively coordinate with the city government of Milan to strengthen the security level of the San Siro Stadium, no matter how much it costs. I believe that no matter how poor you are, you won't be able to take out such a little money, right? β
"Mr. Prime Minister, if anyone can't come up with this money, I will pay in advance." Unexpectedly, Moratti next door was actually willing to breathe out with Mr. Bei, "Meazza is a big stadium, security issues really need to be taken seriously, we still have to hold a game like the Champions League final, we can't protect the safety of fans in other countries, how can we maintain the right to speak in UEFA in the future?" β
The three northern powerhouses have been united once in a rare way. I have to say that the joint force of the three is still quite huge, and after a while, the small and medium-sized clubs attached to the three have expressed their support for the top three in the north. Only a few clubs such as Roma, Lazio and Torino are still unclear. However, given that the general trend has become irreversible, they agreed to this request.
Then it's time to discuss the punishment of Chen Fei himself and Udinese FC. Sensi still insisted on his viciousness as always, but this time, he was still pushed back by the three northern powers. In the end, the meeting reached the following preliminary agreement:
First, the clubs agreed in principle to strengthen the security of the stadium and actively communicate with the city government about the increase in the security force.
Second, Atalanta head coach Chen Fei was banned for one game, fined 15 million Italian lira (about 10,000 US dollars), and ordered all coaches not to make provocative remarks, and violators will be disciplined.
As for the punishment of Udinese, there was another debate at the meeting, but in the end an agreement was reached, and the club will play the rest of the home game this season behind closed doors, and the club will completely rectify the security work and fine 300 million Italian lira (about 200,000 US dollars). The replay of this match will add an empty match at the Stadio Friuli in the week after the 34th round, rejecting Sensi's request to relegate Udinese and penalize points in Serie B. Although it is more severe, it is still barely bearable for the Pozzo family.
But what Chen Fei didn't expect was that these requests he made by himself were actually retributed to himself laterγγγγγγ