Italy vs. Serbia - Who Really Is To Blame | Thebigtip

Tuesday October 12th will go down as a very dark day in world football. The Euro 2012 qualifier between Italy and Serbia in Genoa was scheduled to be played that night along with another 21 games. What was to follow was a night that would shock not only football fans, but the world, causing headlines everywhere.

But, who is to blame for these incidents? Why did they happen? What did these people get out of it? If you’re to believe everything you read then the answer will be that Serbian people are a disgrace, that they’re filthy people and for what actions these so called “fans” did, Serbia should be harshly treated. As most should know though, don’t believe everything you read.

So, what really did happen on October 12th in Genoa? Well firstly, the game was delayed 45 minutes because of problems outside the ground before the game. OK, fair enough call from the officials. Then the game started, and right away sections of the Serbian fans started throwing flares onto the ground, breaking seats, smashing the fences, burning flags etc which caused the referee to abandon the game. It was a fantastic decision by the referee to call the game off, there was simply no way the game could continue.

Who is to blame though? Many people say it’s the Serbian fans. Let’s get one thing very clear, it wasn’t the Serbian fans, it was a very small section of the 3,500 strong Serbian contingent that came to Genoa that night looking for trouble and trouble is exactly what they caused. These “hooligans” are well known around Serbia. They’re backed by the Serbian mafia and even some sections of what is a pretty corrupt Serbian Government to cause havoc on major events, not just sporting events either. It also must be noted that the Italian police really didn’t do much to stop any of this from happening. They just stood in front of the “hooligans” and watched them as they burnt flags and threw flares. It also must be noted that the Italian police have always had problems in the Serie A with some clubs ultra fans running amuck without much problem, most notably the two capital clubs, Roma and Lazio. It’s simply a fact that the Italian police don’t deal with violence too well.

Why did it happen? This is the question that has causes much speculation. Some people seem to think that the reason behind it is because Serbian GK Vladimir Stojkovic is a former Red Star Belgrade player who this season moved to their fierce rivals Partizan Belgrade. While this may be a valid reason, it’s not the whole reason why. There’s been speculation that with Hilary Clinton coming to Belgrade to push through the independence of Kosovo as another reason, a political reason. One thing must be noted about Hilary and also Bill Clinton. They’re two of the most un-liked people in Serbia, if not the two most. It’s like comparing Osama Bin Laden to the Americans and asking them if they like Bin Laden. This goes with the supposed Serbian “hooligans” causing more problems at a Serbian gay parade two days before the Italy vs. Serbia game in Genoa. Again, both these are valid reasons, but are they the real reasons why these incidents happened? I don’t think so.

The most obvious reason as to why these incidents happened on October 12th is because of the very poor recent performances of Serbia, dating back to the World Cup in June and July for which they came last in their Group, losing to Ghana and Australia and beating 3rd placed Germany in between. For the people of Serbia, this was a very poor showing as everyone had high hopes of Serbia doing really well, even going deep into the tournament. The poor form followed Serbia as in their second Euro 2012 qualifying game, they needed a very late goal from Nikola Zigic to get a 1-1 draw to fellow Balkan nation Slovenia. This was the last straw for the Serbian FA and it meant the end for coach Radomir Antic.

The sacking of Antic has caused quite a stir in Serbia as he was a very popular figure and whilst Serbia didn’t get out of the Group at the World Cup, Serbian people were prepared to overlook that as at least he got them to the World Cup and were hoping of progress for Euro 2012 after missing Euro 2008. What has followed has been a straight out war of words between Antic and Serbian FA President Tomislav Karadzic which has caused quite the stir with Antic suing the Serbian FA for $2M euros. The sacking of Antic and the disappointment that followed was heightened when Serbia lost at home to former Soviet nation Estonia. After going up 1-0 with 30 minutes to go, Serbia conceded three goals the rest of the game, two of them embarrassing goals to which caused public outcry in Serbia. It was a very embarrassing day for Serbian football, and one that I think is the real reason as to why these Serbian “hooligans” really did cause problems in Genoa. The ringleader of it all, Ivan Bogdanov has already said he has nothing against Italy saying “I love my country. I have nothing against Italy, I have it with my team."

This is why along with sacking the coach Radomir Antic, I blame the players more than anyone. To drop four points to two sides that you should beat and are paid million of dollars for is simply not good enough. Some of these Serbian players are playing for the biggest clubs in the world; Manchester United, Inter Milan, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund to name a few. I also think that while the actions of the Serbian “hooligans” wasn’t a good thing at all, it certainly will get the players attention for future matches if they are allowed to stay in the competition.

So, what did these Serbian “hooligans” get out of these actions? It’s hard to say really. I have no doubt that they were their to protest against the recent performances of Serbia and also the sacking of the coach. Bogdanov has pretty much said it and he was the ringleader. I simply don’t buy the Stojkovic theory, that could and would be saved for the upcoming Red Star vs. Partizan game. I also don’t buy the political reasons as if they were to protest against Hilary Clinton and the independence of Kosovo, that would have been done in Belgrade.

What is now going to happen one would ask? UEFA have said they will first conduct a “full investigation” into all of this. What it really means is that they will deliberate for a couple of weeks and sort out a punishment for Serbia which will be known on October 28th. The likely scenario is that Italy will be awarded a 3-0 win and Serbia fined a very large sum whilst possibly even been banned from the rest of the qualification process. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen as this would be robbing the players (even though I maintain they’re the real reason to blame for all of this) and most of the Serbian fans from watching a team with some very gifted players of doing what they’re paid for.

Some people argue that Serbia should be made a guinea pig, and a precedent should be set from now on about “hooligans” but considering it was the English that started the trend of “hooliganism” and they, along with the Germans were involved in quite the spat at Euro 2000, shouldn’t the precedent have already been set years ago? I’m just saying.

It was certainly a dark day for football, and a very dark day for the nation of Serbia. But don’t let the actions of so few take away from a developing nation that is still trying to recover from five years of civil war as while the actions weren’t great, this is all a lot of these people know.