| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
Just a Few Rogues?Football Ultras, Clubs and Politics in Contemporary ItalyAnglia Ruskin University, UK, vincenzo.scalia{at}anglia.ac.uk Two people, a policeman and a football supporter, died in Italy in 2007 after clashes between police and football supporters. Italian public opinion asked for more repressive measures to fight football related violence. Both politicians and football clubs supported this view, thus blaming ultras, as Italian organized football supporters are called, for wrecking football. That does not acknowledge the place of ultras in Italian football culture. Ultras are organized groups with an independent subculture that enjoys the legitimacy of other football supporters. Their organization, their reputation, made them suitable for a role of intermediation between supporters, politics and clubs. As a consequence of this, both politicians and football clubs use ultras for their purposes.
Key Words: football Italy politics ultras violence
International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Vol. 44, No. 1,
41-53 (2009) |
|||