New laws for hooligans and match-fixing

By Football Italia staff

The Italian Government announced new laws to clamp down on violence around football games and match-fixing.

Today Minister for the Interior Angelino Alfano announced new measures, including the power to ban clubs from having away supporters for up to two years.

The calcio world was shaken by the events leading up to the Coppa Italia Final in May, when Napoli fan Ciro Esposito was shot by a Roma ultra on his way to the Stadio Olimpico. Esposito died several weeks later in hospital.

“We wanted to say the State has lost patience with those who want to ruin football,” said Alfano.

“This is justified by what happened at the Olimpico and to ensure it never happens again. We asked the clubs to push harder to get the stadiums up to code.”

The big development is in the use of the daspo – an Italian version of an ASBO, a ban on attending any sporting event.

They will be able to extend a daspo to ban from stadiums those convicted of non-football-related crimes such as public disorder and violent crime.

The daspo will now have a minimum length of three years, while repeat offenders will be barred for a minimum of five years and a maximum of eight years.

Supporters can be banned for bringing into the stadium banners, flags, signs or any other imagery that can incite violence or racial hatred.

The Government also stepped up penalties for players involved in match-fixing and sporting fraud.

Anyone who offers or receives money or goods to alter the result of a competitive sporting event will be given 2-6 years in prison.

The law allows a sentence to be as high as nine years with a €100,000 fine.

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