Tragedy of 39 Dead Has Not Stopped Hooligans, Juventus and Italy Find

One year later, players and officials of the Italy’s best soccer team still live in the shadow of a bloody riot at Brussels’ Heysel Stadium. But it doesn’t appear to have changed the behavior of rowdy Italian fans.

“It was an awful experience, which has been branded in our memory forever,” Juventus Coach Giovanni Trappatoni said of last May’s tragedy, when 39 people were trampled to death before the Cup of Champions final against Liverpool.

Almost all of the dead were Juventus fans who had traveled from Turin for the game.

Still, Trappatoni said, “I cannot say if the tragedy has changed us for the better.”

Many Italian fans appear to have forgotten what happened at Heysel. Violence continued to accompany rivalries and feuds during the past season, in which Juventus won its 22nd Italian league championship.

Serious clashes between rival fans, between fans and police, hooliganism against shops, and attacks on referees and visiting teams occurred in Florence, Pisa, Bergamo and Rome.

“They have learned nothing from the Heysel tragedy; they have forgotten quickly,” said Giorgio Perruquet, leader of Juventus’ largest fan club. “We have been threatened, scared in several Italian stadiums this year. We had thought that this would not happen again after Brussels. Juventus still is a hated team away from home.”

Despite the Heysel riot and what one official called a “state of war” often surrounding trips to away games, Juventus fans stuck with their team at home and on the road this season.

Yet the number of fans who attended the 30 rounds of Italian major league matches last season dropped to 8.6 million, down 7.5% from 1984-85.

Italian federation officials who spoke under condition of anonymity blamed the decline on factors other than Heysel.

“The absence of new foreign stars (following a ban on importing players) and the overwhelming superiority of Juventus in the first part of the season, which took the uncertainty from the championship, are to blame for the decline in gate-takings,” one official said.

Some soccer observers said violence in stadiums is unlikely to disappear.

“Violence is part of the current society and cannot be uprooted from stadiums,” said Giovanni Arpino, a novelist and occasional soccer commentator.

Officials of Juventus agree that unruly behavior among spectators is difficult to eliminate.

“Close controls at the gates, so that people can’t bring in bottles, bars or rocks must be continued and stiffened. Prevention is essential,” one said. “The Heysel tragedy was originated by lack of controls and security.”

He also said fans should be given comfortable seats and a good view of the match.

“Standing under the rain or in cold weather, squeezed among thousands, three hours in advance of the kickoff can only ignite tensions and violence,” he said.

To this end, Juventus and Turin have announced plans for a new 70,000-seat stadium, with all seats sheltered and numbered to allow fans to enter the stadium shortly before kickoff.

Antonio Cabrini, a defender on Juventus and the Italian national team, said players also must help fans improve their behavior.

“Players should not dramatize tackles by the opponents,” he said. “This only fuels tension among fans.

“We are used to being insulted and even spat at when we play away from Turin. Rival fans do not like us any more after Brussels.”