I’m, going to make this article “sticky” for a while which basically means that it will remain here at the top of the site even if newer articles are posted after it. So don’t don’t forget to keep checking underneath this article just in case a newer one has been posted.

I am going to do this because I want this important article to be seen and acted on by as many people as possible.  Please tell your friends about this post or use the “email to a friend” link at the top right of the post.  Perhaps bookmark it in your favourite social bookmarking site.  You can quickly do that by simply clicking on the Digg button at the top of the post too.  Do you have your own soccer site?  Please link back to this article.  Do you have an email list you can contact?  Please send this out to them asking for their support. Whatever you do to show your support, many thanks it is greatly appreciated!

Ok, a little background on this article.  It was not written by me. Everyday I receive several soccer related emails and the contents of this article were a special edition email sent by The Times newspaper here in the UK.  As you can tell by the heading it all about the UEFA Champions League Final which is due to be played in Rome on May 27th.  Regular readers will know that I am not a big fan of UEFA, there are several reasons which I’m not going to go into now.  However, that is not why I am posting this.   I read this article and simply thought the issue needed to be aired to hopefully maximise it as much as possible.  UEFA need to act, there is still time.  Apply some pressure, it all counts!  Here’s the article: 

How many people have to be stabbed in Rome before Uefa agrees to move the Champions League final? Roma’s notorious supporters are stuck in the dark ages of the Seventies and Eighties, but that has not stopped Uefa from pressing ahead with its controversial plan to hold this year’s Champions League final in Rome’s Olympic Stadium. The time is right to make a stand.

Sources at Uefa have told The Times that many working at the organisation’s headquarters in Switzerland are unhappy with the choice of venue for May’s final. When they raised their concerns with the governing body’s top brass they were told that it was Italy’s turn to host the final.

Uefa is hoping that there will be no trouble on May 27 and is confident that Italian police will deal with any problems. Any English supporter who has been to the Olympic Stadium knows that holding the final there is a risk not worth taking. Type “Roma” and “stabbing” into Google and you get 280,000 results.

Arsenal supporters were attacked when their team beat Roma on penalties last week, 14 Liverpool fans were stabbed when their side played in the Italian capital eight years ago, 16 Manchester United followers were stabbed in 2007, three Middlesbrough fans were knifed in 2006. The list goes on.

“It’s fair to say a few eyebrows have been raised about the decision to play the game at the Olympic Stadium,” a source at Greater Manchester Police said. “Given the number of times Roma supporters have found themselves embroiled in trouble in recent years, doubts have been expressed about whether an English club would have been awarded the final if they’d the kind of record Roma have on that front.”

According to Uefa, the governing body’s core mission is to promote the principles of unity and solidarity in football. It is difficult to see how that can be achieved when English, Spanish, German and Portuguese supporters are worried that they will be stabbed if their team qualifies for the final.

“We are very concerned,” Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation, said. “There is a history of English fans suffering serious attacks in Rome and a failure by the Italian authorities to deal with it.”

Violent incidents at Serie A games may be declining, but Italian football needs a short, sharp shock to eradicate its hooligan problem. English clubs were banned from European competition for five years after the tragic events at Heysel in 1985, but Uefa’s policy for dealing with what is rapidly becoming the Italian disease is a slap on the wrist and a paltry fine.

Michel Platini, the Uefa president, warned earlier this season that the final would be moved if there were any more violent incidents in Rome and we are challenging him to back his words with action. The Champions League final is scheduled to be played on Wednesday May 27 and Wembley Stadium, the Nou Camp in Barcelona and the AllianzArena in Munich are some of the venues available to host European club football’s biggest game.

Say no to Rome. Say no to Stab City. Say non to Michel Platini. Join our campaign to force Uefa to move the Champions League final by e-mailing rome@timesonline.co.uk and we will forward your comments to Platini. Remember to tell your friends to get their voice heard and forward this onto them. And if they want, they too can sign up to Ahead of TheGame, Britain’s best football e-mail. Tell them why they should - they can make a difference. Sign up here: https://www.timesonline.co.uk/genreg/showBarrier.do?ERIGHTS_TARGET=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesonline.co.uk%2Fgenreg%2FshowEmailPref.do

THE ITALIAN DISEASE

In recent years, supporters of Middlesbrough, Genoa, Manchester United, Catania, Liverpool, Atalanta, Inter Milan, Lazio, AC Milan, Reggina and Arsenal have been stabbed while playing Roma …

MAY 1984

After the 1984 European Cup final numerous Liverpool fans were stabbed in a night of violence after Roma lost on penalties. The trouble went largely unreported in the British media in an era when English hooliganism dominated the headlines.

FEBRUARY 2001

Fourteen Liverpool supporters suffered stab wounds in Rome before and after a Uefa Cup tie.

DECEMBER 2001

When Liverpool returned to the Italian capital for a Champions League game, five more visiting fans were hospitalised after being knifed.

MARCH 2006

Three Middlesbrough supporters were stabbed and ten others injured the night before the club secured an aggregate Uefa Cup victory over Roma. Officials at the Riverside Stadium, who were urged by the Italian authorities to provide fans with detailed safety advice, described the policing of the game as a “cesspool of mismanagement”.

DECEMBER 2007

Seven Manchester United supporters were taken to hospital before the Champions League match against AS Roma at the Olympic Stadium. Three of the seven suffered stab wounds to the “stomach and buttocks”, according to local police, while the others were injured after being beaten and kicked.

MARCH 2009

An Arsenal fan was attacked with a knife as a coach carrying supporters, who had travelled independently but had tickets, was attacked by a group of Roma “Ultras” just outside the Olympic Stadium. The coach’s windows were smashed and at least one hooligan entered the vehicle, letting off a flare and stabbing a supporter in the knee.

LISTEN TO THE FANS

Sean Bones, vice-chair of the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust:

“The wisdom of Uefa’s choice of Rome as the venue for this year’s Champions League final has to be called into question. Over the years when away supporters have visited Rome they have been picked off systematically on their way to and from the stadium. The most dangerous and notorious area is the Ponte Duca D’Aosta Bridge, where Italian police don’t seem to have the ability or inclination to protect away fans. No one wants to see a continuation of the ruthless attacks that have been happening with alarming regularity over the years in Rome. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that visiting supporters will be in Rome to watch a football game, not to have their lives threatened.”

Steve Powell, Football Supporters’ Federation:

“We are very concerned about the repeated episodes of violence in Italy and will be putting pressure on Uefa. We have to make sure that supporters who behave well at football matches are treated with the respect that they deserve. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.”

Trizia Fiorellino, Chelsea Supporters’ Group:

“You will never stop me going to games, but lots of people are worried about the possibility of going to Rome. The stadium is big but the seats have been bolted onto the terraces and there is a massive running track around the pitch. It’s the Italian police that we are most worried about.”

Stuart Young, Middlesbrough Fanzone:

“As a Middlesbrough fan Rome brings back some frightening memories of what so-called football fans can do to the travelling opposition fans. We were warned of the potential dangers that may arise in Rome when we visited the Italian capital in 2006, but we did not expect the pure brutality by the Roma fans and to some extent the over-eager Italian police.

“With the possibility of the final being an all-English affair it will only encourage the fans of Lazio and Roma to go on the rampage against travelling fans. The danger signs are there and this must be addressed before it is too late. The final must be moved to a safer location to avoid the high possibility of fans getting injured or sadly being killed. This competition deserves to have a great location, but more importantly a safe environment for players and fans and the Olympic Stadium is not one of these locations for a big event like this.”

LISTEN TO THE LEGEND

Tommy Smith, former Liverpool captain:

“Thank God there are no Italian teams left in the competition. It is up to the FA to do something about this but I doubt they have enough power to make anything happen.”

VOTE NOW

Let your fingers do the talking. Click on the link below to tell us if you want the Champions League final removed from Rome. We will send the results to Uefa.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/thegame/2009/03/champions-leagu.html

Many thanks everyone!

Cheers

Rik