Cassino, madness at the Stadium: hunt for violent fans

Fans attacked and left bleeding in a ditch next to the road: what should have been an afternoon of sport and entertainment turned into a nightmare. Scuffles on and off the pitch, Wednesday afternoon, during the Serie D championship match (group G) between Cassino and Savoia. For the record, the home team won the match after beating the Campania team 3 to 1.

But the sporting aspect definitely took a backseat given the violence and disorder that took place. The scuffles started while the teams were in the changing rooms: around fifty Savoia fans tore down the gate that separated the away fans’ position from the pitch, after which they made a real invasion on the turf of the ‘Salveti’ and began to throw smoke bombs and firecrackers. Police intervention was necessary to avoid a clash with the numerous Cassino fans who had come in large numbers to watch the eighth day of the championship. However, during the second half the tension remained very high: the final whistle did nothing to calm things down. In fact, right at the end of the match, something worse happened than what we saw at half-time.

THE TESTIMONIALS

According to the testimonies of some present, some of the Savoia fans grabbed baseball bats and the clashes continued until two Cassino fans got the worst of it. Both had to seek medical treatment and were then transferred to the ‘Santa Scolastica’ hospital: one with a cut to the head, the other complaining of pain in his arm. The officers of the Cassino police station who carried out law enforcement are investigating what happened. The situation has gotten out of hand which is why yesterday one of the historic fans like Andrea Vizzaccaro, present at the stadium, also in his capacity as municipal councilor of the martyr city, sent a letter to the FIGC, the prefect of Frosinone and the mayor of Cassino. Vizzaccaro claims: «Some of the visiting fans invaded the pitch during the interval and, having reached the stands where the home fans were crowded, with numerous children present, they threw smoke bombs and firecrackers. Not happy, at the end of the match, they got off the buses and chased two young home fans until they reached them near the car park of the Archi shopping center and, after having savagely beaten them, one of them was even thrown into a ditch. adjacent to the road. Certainly, it is not up to me to pass judgment on any cracks, even if evident, in the management of the law enforcement service, but as a citizen it is my duty to report what I have seen and ask that action be taken both in civil and sporting justice to ensure that those responsible are punished and, above all, removed from the stadiums.”

Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia also intervenes on what happened, stigmatizing the behavior of the troublemakers but at the same time highlighting some critical issues of the Cassino facility: «The Salveti stadium has demonstrated, it must be said, that it is inadequate to host a large number of fans like it happens when Savoy plays away. The gate through which the vandals entered for their raid on the pitch was not equipped with a solid lock and was not adequately guarded.” Meanwhile last night the sports judge’s decision arrived, heavily sanctioning the Oplontine club which will be forced to play the next three matches on a neutral pitch and behind closed doors as well as having to pay a fine of 4,500 euros.