Italian soccer continues to have a fan problem. The Beautiful Country has a not-so-beautiful reputation for fan hooliganism and racism. The first helped prevent Italy from winning the bid to host Euro 2012. The second will cause two-time European champion Juventus to play a May 3 game without benefit of a crowd.
This because of the abuse showered upon Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli, an Italian of Ghanaian descent, during Saturday’s 1-1 draw.
"The sporting judge ... considered that in the course of the game and on multiple occasions, fans of the home team, in various sections of the stadium, sang songs which included racial discrimination," a league statement said.
"Juventus are therefore obliged to play one game behind closed doors."
Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli strongly condemned the chants of his team’s fans, but Juventus is appealing the ruling, just the same.
As B.F. Skinner could tell you (if he were still with us), negative reinforcement works. So I say, keep penalizing the team, because that keeps penalizing the fans, who might — eventually — get the message.
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