Italian fans force loser players to remove jerseys

This one?s going to be hard for you to believe, but here we go. A group of Italian Serie A soccer fans were so disgusted with the way their team was playing that they began throwing fireworks onto the field, saying that they would not stop until their team removed their jerseys and handed them over. And the team complied.

It happened at Genoa?s Luigi Ferraris Stadium on Sunday, as Genoa was getting clobbered, 4-0, by Siena in the 53rd minute. That?s when Genoa ?ultras? began throwing flares onto the pitch and climbing tunnels and barriers, causing a stoppage of play. As police in riot gear stood by, spokesmen for the fans demanded that the Genoa team remove their jerseys, because they were ?unworthy? of wearing the colors.

Captain Marco Rossi went to negotiate with the ultras ? After some time, the players accepted and there were tears from Giandomenico Mesto as he handed over his shirt.

Rossi was walking around the pitch with a pile of jerseys to show the fans, but Giuseppe Sculli refused to co-operate.

Sculli went over to speak to the fans himself and insisted with great passion that he was giving his all for Genoa, so would not take off the shirt.

He too was in tears and comforted by the head ultra. This proved a breakthrough and the game was allowed to resume.

Yep, the match resumed only after the ?head ultra? pulled back his troops. After a 45-minute delay, Siena went on to win 4-1.

I have a hard time picturing a Kansas City Chiefs game being stopped by rowdy fans in the third quarter, demanding that players turn over their jerseys. For one thing, there would be a stampede to the parking lot as fans rushed home to get the garments on eBay. For another, Nike makes them so tight now that some linemen wouldn?t be able to get them off. Roger Goodell would really be pleased with something like that, wouldn?t he?

Italian soccer officials were similarly unamused.

?This violence is unacceptable,? Italian soccer federation President Giancarlo Abete said. ?These are not fans. I hope these people are found and condemned. They shouldn?t ever be allowed to enter stadiums again.?

Genoa president Enrico Preziosi said ?it?s upsetting that 60 or 100 people have the impunity to do and say what they feel like without being stopped and sent home.?

?It?s not possible that they take over the stadium and impose their laws,? he said.

The whole things sounds like a deleted scene from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

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