An Italian slang term for buttock stabbing – usually associated with soccer fans in Rome.

Reporting ahead of the Champions League soccer final in Rome, the BBC described a curious form of Italian soccer hooliganism – buttock stabbing:

The practice even has its own slang name in the local Roman dialect – “puncicate.” But why is the backside targeted?

According to those who have researched the subject, a stab wound in the buttocks may be chosen as it is seen as not likely to be life-threatening, but is humiliating and painful for the victim.

Experts believe the cultural tradition may even be linked to medieval duelling where slashing an opponent’s buttocks was supposedly considered very skillful. [Because duelers fought facing each other.] …

The practice has also been linked by some academics to medieval first-blood duels, says [soccer] writer Gabriele Marcotti. “In the duels the first person to draw blood from their opponent was the winner.”

The prevalence of knife attacks in the Eternal City has given rise to an alternative nickname among soccer supporters – Stab City. However, the BBC noted:

People are quick to point out the stabbings are done by a very small group of extreme supporters, known in Italy as “ultras.” Most clubs have such fans, but “puncicate” is almost exclusively done in Rome and by followers of local team Roma, say experts.

Tony Evans railed against the “doctrine of puncicate” in an article for The Times of London in which he criticized UEFA’s (Union of European Football Associations) decision to hold the final in Rome:

Liverpool’s two games against [Roma] in 2001 left more than 20 visiting fans in hospital; [Manchester] United have been involved in a number of incidents in the Italian capital, the worst in 2007 when 11 supporters were stabbed; and Middlesbrough and Arsenal supporters have been slashed in the past three years.

Gianni Alemanno, the Mayor of Rome, may respond to critics of his city by pointing out that there is more knife crime in London but he fails to recognise that his is the only city in Europe where visiting [soccer] supporters are routinely and specifically targeted with blades.

The BBC quoted Dr Don MacKechnie from the College of Emergency Medicine who pointed out that buttock-stabbing can inflict more than an embarrassing flesh wound: “It can damage the main nerves to the leg and cripple someone for life.”