Euro 2012 Qualifying: Italy And Serbia Want You To Feel The Flares
Tuesday brought upsets as well as some expected results. Turkey fell 1-0 to Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland only managed to draw 1-1 with the Faroe Islands. England failed miserably as expected against Montenegro and staggered to a 0-0 result. Meanwhile in Genoa, it was business as usual for Serbia. What’s that mean? Italy-Serbia was called off due to Serbian rioting that was predictable whether you listen to the Kaiser Chiefs or not.
The good times kicked off after Serbian keeper Vladimir Stojkovic withdrew from the match due to abuse suffered from Serbian supporters on his way to the stadium. It’s suspected that he was being abused for currently being a Partizan Belgrade player after plying his trade with Red Star Belgrade. Remember how well Figo’s switch from Barcelona to Real Madrid went?
The match started 30 minutes late as Serbian fans led by a guy wearing a ski mask climbed a fence, tore a hole in it and started throwing flares on the pitch and at Italian fans.
Some footage has finally hit YouTube. Enjoy!
Play was halted after several minutes as police tried to control the crowd. A flare appeared to hit Italian keeper Emiliano Viviano. Meanwhile Italian fans cursed the Serbs and the guy in the ski mask kept the Serbian contingent hyped up until the team came over to ask them to calm down.
At this point, Serbia should charged with a forfeit and Italy will granted three points. Italian fans should be grateful the way they’ve been playing the past year.
You have to love how the Guardian refers to Serbian supporters as “traditionally combustible”. How cute.
UPDATE: Here’s the best YouTube footage we’ve seen so far courtesy of @Paolo_Bandini. Ski Mask Guy is really making things happen.
Smooth on you if you got the Peabo Bryson reference.
