No one will play from Excellence to Under 14 on the weekend of 7-8 December. The latest episode, a referee sent to hospital in category III, but throughout Italy this year the attacks have multiplied. The president of Aia Pacifici: “Safeguard our kids”
Lazio football stops due to too much violence against referees. The strong but necessary decision (given the latest episodes) was taken unanimously in these hours by all the presidents of the various category arbitration associations. And it was communicated through a joint document: from Excellence to under 14, no one will play next weekend. A strong stance to say enough to violence against referees given the too many episodes that have occurred in the last year. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the victim of Edoardo Cavalieri from Civitavecchia, thirty years old, a physiotherapist in everyday life, attacked during Corchiano-Celere (III category, group A). The prognosis is 30 days for the infringement of the radial head of the left elbow. A serious damage, also considering Cavalieri’s profession as a physiotherapist which he will not be able to practice for some time.
TOO MANY CASES
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But, as mentioned, in recent years there have been many cases. Starting from the referee Bernardini who ended up in a coma after an attack in November 2018 at the end of the match between Virtus Olympia and Atletico Torrenova, valid for the Promotion championship. Less than a year later, 27-year-old Daniele Pozzi was chased to his car during a second category match and savagely beaten by fans and members. And we are only talking about the most serious cases, without mentioning episodes of sexism (one recently also involved Mattia Pisilli, brother of the Giallorossi player) and verbal violence. As of May 31st, 519 cases of violence against referees had been detected throughout Italy compared to 334 in the previous management. A fact that should make us reflect.
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DECISION NECESSARY
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The decision was made after a meeting with the Anti-Violence Observatory and all the section presidents. “Unquestionable” has been defined as well as “necessary”. In fact, to date, not even the recent amendments to articles 35 and 36 of the Sports Justice Code have served to tighten sanctions against members who are violent towards referees. Penalties doubled for those who attack a referee, penalty points foreseen for clubs if the acts are committed by their managers. Daniele Doveri, owner of Roma1, also signed the document, “agree to refrain from appointing referees and assistant referees for matches of any kind category scheduled for next weekend (6, 7 and 8 December 2024)”, a “strong and non-postponable” decision. Document sent to the president of the LND’s CRA Lazio, Roberto Avantaggiato, who would have opposed a 15′ delay in matches to the strike. Meeting the total opposition of the referees and of the president of the Hague Carlo Pacifici who had warned just a few days ago: “The fight against violence is everyone’s problem and we must all commit ourselves, each with our own possibilities, to contribute to fighting it. Safeguarding our boys and girls means defending ourselves and our Association.” last night the call that broke the deadlock, with the president of Cra Aia Lazio, Massini, also present. I’m going on strike this weekend and if the violence doesn’t stop the next one could be longer. The example of Lazio could soon be followed by other Regions, given that cases of violence certainly do not stop at the gates of Rome and its province.
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