THOSE GOODFELLAS IN ITALIAN POLICE: VARESE-COMO By A-Ha/Resolution 101

Everybody told us we live in a free state. Everybody told us violence is out of our lives, that it is just a piece of our nature we have left behind. So we think about the police as about a few smart guys who help grannies walking across the street and to whom you may ask information about streets and so on. Then you go to a third-division football match, and you find out another point of view.

Varese and Como are two nearby towns in northern Italy, and their football teams play the same division. Hooligans from these towns hate each other a real bunch, and so when they play one against the other there is a load of police around. I know a guy who is in the Varese supporters and who told me a little story. Well, he was going into the playfield passing over the nets together with a few others when the police arrived. They started beating real bad with those steel and rubber bats, and my friend was hit in his back, in a leg and in his shoulder. A friend of his saved him pulling him up out of the playfield, but some other unlucky guys had to run away as they could, not to get hit too bad. He saw a few policemen beating a guy who had already fallen down to the floor, and beating him with a rifle butt in his face! Then after the match came two helicopters, and they launched tear-gas. One of those tear-gas bombs fell nearby my friend, and he took it with his hand to throw it away. He burnt his fingers. Then people started running away and everybody started rushing and pushing to the gates, and ofcourse they were closed. Thanks God they broke down and so people could run away, because else there could have been somebody injured really bad.

I dont mean my friend was right, because hooligans did a load of damage. But are we sure there is no better way than unconditional violence to keep violent young dudes under control? I mean, violence by the police causes more violence by the hooligans that causes in itself more violence by the police. Now going to any football, basketball or hockey match means undergo examination by a few policemen. What will be in the future? A lot of people don't go anymore to matches for the risk of getting hit by somebody. I think sport is great, but I dont like getting into a war zone every time I wanna see a few guys playing with a ball. What do you think about this?

This article originally appeared in the Amiga diskmagazine "Freedom Crack #5" by Vega in 1991.

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