At last, after all, a war

Police injured in Kaunas, Rome and Sofia, men stoned in Montevideo, injured in Bogota and in other parts of the world, young American in Madrid stabbed and shot to death in Ciudad Juarez, killed in Buenos Aires and Rosario. There are excerpts from different parts of war. At least not a conventional war. It is a very brief and superficial review of the consequences of football-related violence so far in 2011. And, again, this is only a brief mention of some events, some more tragic than others but all equally disturbing.

On second thought, maybe, we're in a war with very serious consequences. A world war because it extends along the planet civil strife, in any case absurd. This month, a follower of San Lorenzo died hours before his team Velez Sarsfield different measure in pre-match incidents. In 2008 and a young fan of Velez died in his team's visit to the 'New Gasometer'. A return match. Narrate these deaths as usual. Time passes and violence around soccer grows without worrying that their acts are not isolated and unconnected. The war is a chameleon and football, a disguise.

In February, the sports city of Trigoria, where he trains Rome, became the scene of a clash between fans who came to protest the poor state of equipment and the police. Was injured on both sides. "The performance of the fans is a testament to love the club," said Claudio Ranieri, then coach of the Roman. How do you justify acts that way? Is it a reality now so deeply ingrained in football that we used to, looking for explanations, without more, rather than solutions? The violence is a scourge that receives understanding and even institutional support.

"I'm sitting on a powder keg," said eight years ago, Mario Gallina as head of the Provincial Security Committee Sports Argentina. He did so after finding a video that employees and people close to the leaders Independiente de Avellaneda facilitated a 'Bebot', head of the bar of the 'Red Devils', his flight from police. Also an old acquaintance in Spain, Miroslav Djukic, former coach of Serbia, acknowledged in an interview with the newspaper El Pais that "the club finance the ultras." In the interview, which has no waste, extract a few words: "should move away and do not call them fans. For them, football is a cover. The government must stop them now, and put them where they should be characters with that criminal history. "

On one side are the sociological and psychological components that underlie such events, very disturbing. But on the other, perhaps more serious, are the mafia activities carried out by the clubs themselves. Mafia institutions, without which radical groups, usually criminals, have much more limited in their movements. In South America and Eastern Europe, corruption and violence are more fierce, vigorous and obvious but make no mistake, these savage acts are not only problems of particular communities but, in connection with football must be stopped by their agencies, local and international.

Violence is all the rage. Not only fans but also their own star players frequent violence. The media, with print full force and scope of the events are well evidenced. Although not interest us at all other minor league itself that we stop to watch videos of fights between players, discussions, punching, any atrocity is worthy of being served. There is a market around the violence. Many clubs and organizations provide the funding. The means, indifferently, reinforce it.

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