In a new monthly column for the Gentleman Ultra, Federico Farcomeni is on the ground with all the latest news from the Italian football ultra scene. You can follow Federico’s weekly updates from the curva on his Calcio Express substack.
Viking Juve
Viking Juve celebrated their 39th anniversary in Milan (Corvetto area) with a huge flag depicting the Juventus v Milan ticket from 1986, ahead of their clash with the Rossoneri in Turin. As the tifo wasn’t granted access to the Allianz Stadium and Milan ultras stayed away from this fixture for the fifth consecutive year (due to the high ticket pricing), the interest clearly lied elsewhere. The black and white ultra group made headlines also at Milan Central before departing for Como, as they displayed a banner condemning incidents in and around central stations during demonstrations for Palestine and making Roman salutes. Even the club had to officially distance themselves from the gestures. When in Como, despite their attempt to reach Como Camerlata and watch the game in a pub, 150 ticketless Juve fans were escorted back to Como San Giovanni train station to wait for the other Juve fans to return at the end of the match.
Return of the Pisa Ultras
After missing out the games in Bergamo and Naples due to restrictions, Pisa ultras finally attended their first away game in Serie A after 12,559 days – their latest at this level was away at Juventus’ Stadio Delle Alpi on 19 May 1991. Their performance in Bologna was loud and proud with 2,500 in attendance despite the final result (4-0).
Napoli and Genoa make peace
Napoli and Genoa had formally interrupted their “gemellaggio” in 2019 after 37 years but last weekend saw both sets of ultras applauding each other in the name of Ciro Esposito first and then reciprocating support. Despite not travelling in big numbers (only 150 made the trek down south), Genoa ultras mingled with their counterparts outside the Curva B ahead of kick-off and potentially resurfaced this historical twinning.
Rimini protest
After deserting the first three home games of their team, Rimini ultras made their return on Romeo Neri’s Curva Est for the home game against top of the table Arezzo. Their intention clearly that of extending the protest against current club’s owners as their financial struggles continue, yet keeping the club up would at least avoid bankruptcy.
Altamura and Potenza love in
Altamura and Potenza reinforced their twinning which started in 1987. Last season, as Altamura were awaiting for renovations to be completed at their own ground, this fixture was played in Bari. This time, 640 fans were in attendance in the away end as both sets of ultras displayed banners of mutual respect and friendship.
Padova in the lion’s den
Romantic rendezvous for Padova as they played Slovenian side Koper in a friendly at the old Stadio Appiani, once known as the Lions’ Den (more here), a pleasant short walk from the city centre of the Saint’s city – around 1,000 Padova fans in attendance with their distinctive flags. Local ultras hate their stadium so much that they always carry a flag which reads “Euganeo shit of Padua.” Meanwhile, ultras of both Padova and Venezia have been banned due to a fight on the A27 last July – around 30 people took part, but police have only managed to identify some of those.
Catania and Casertana clash on the motorway
Around a hundred ultras of both Catania and Casertana met on the A2, throwing stones and flares across the motorway. As usual, police now investigating through videos and online chats and audios, especially on Telegram as they try to understand whether it was a pre-planned meeting. Before this incident, in the morning, ultra groups of Curva Sud and Curva Nord Catania had fought between them on the ferry which was taking them to mainland to attend the game in Giugliano.
Brigate Rossonere hit 50
On Saturday 11 October, former members of the Brigate Rossonere met in Cinisello Balsamo (near Milan) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the group with an exhibition of banners, flags and memorabilia. This season, AC Milan have banned all kind of flags and banners, including those historical ones from now defunct ultra groups (Brigate and Fossa dei Leoni), although one of the Curva Sud leaders, “il Barone”, has said that they will keep on fighting in order to bring those banners back inside the San Siro. Meanwhile, nets have been reinstalled at the Milanese ground. These will serve to shield home fans from objects thrown by visiting supporters in the third tier.
Como no go Down Under
As it’s now well known, in February Milan will play Como in Perth, while the San Siro will be taken over by the International Olympic Committee for the Winter Olympics. Como have announced they will invite fifty supporters and talked about “sacrificing for a greater good” in order to promote Italian football in Australia – but ultras Como 1907 have published a long counter statement which reads “our faith doesn’t travel in business class but it rather stays here under the rain, in the cold, on the terraces, amongst chants and flags – For us, sacrifice is a daily occurrence. It’s those who work all week and travel hundreds of kilometres on Sundays to be there. It’s those who pay for everything out of their own pockets, without asking anyone for anything. It’s those who were there in Serie D, on pitches that not even the sat-nav could find, and will always be there, wherever this team play. So no, don’t come explaining to us what ‘sacrifice for the common good’ means. We won’t accept lessons in sacrifice from those who have never experienced ours.” In the following home game against Juventus, Como ultras displayed a banner hinting at the league’s tendency to sell itself too easily as the dispute around the Milan v Como game in Australia continues (“a gambe A-Perth” meaning “a gambe aperte” that is “with open legs”).
Chievo who?
What happened to Chievo? Italian football fans occasionally ask themselves. Now featuring in Group B of Serie D (the fourth tier), they were visiting Folgore Caratese over the weekend (live on national tv) and leapfrogged them in first position on goal difference, courtesy of a 2-1 victory away from home. Around 70 fans made the trip and made up for a very good atmosphere with scarves, big flags and a blue smoke bomb. They also displayed an ironic banner and sang a song about them having the Rolex stolen to Folgore owner a few days before the game. Ultras and players celebrating together after the final whistle left a very good impression.
Brescia divided
And what happened to Brescia? Union Brescia played away at Pro Patria. After going bankrupt, the local municipality bought the sport title off Feralpi Salò and managed to stay in Lega Pro rather than being demoted to the fourth tier of the Italian football pyramid. Obviously, this sparked controversy and the two local ultra groups, who have been divided for many years, kept following opposite ways – Ultras Brescia decided to support Union, whilst Brescia 1911 are waiting for their “real club” to return to the scene (and even Saint Etienne ultras showed solidarity about the subject with this banner “you write history with Calcio Brescia 1911 ASD”). Meanwhile, Union publishes great videos on their YT channel, showing very well the atmosphere generated by the away fans in Busto Arsizio.
Entella defy Samp
On Friday 17 October, Entella hosted Sampdoria. Local ultras had published a statement which read: “the only colours that will be tolerated will be our ones (white and sky blue)”. Their fear being Sampdoria supporters buying up tickets in virtually every stand of the little ground in Chiavari, which officially holds no more than 5,600 supporters (1,700 in the away end). Some fans even queued up at 5:40 AM to get their tickets. It was the first ever competitive match between these two sides, virtually separated by only 20 miles, but Samp boast thousands of fans in the Liguria region nonetheless. Entella eventually had the upper hand (3-1).
Hellas and Pisa clash
Around 200 Hellas Verona ultras clashed with dozens of their Pisa counterparts in Tuscany ahead of their stalemate at Arena Garibaldi. Away ultras got off in small groups at San Rossore station via Florence, avoiding major police escort and supported by their Fiorentina friends. They then walked on Contessa Matilde Street before meeting up with their rivals (a Frenchman and an Englishman were injured). After the clashes, five Hellas ultras were arrested, and both sets of fans have now been banned for THREE months from their respective away games. Pisa fans will miss: Milan, Torino, Sassuolo, Lecce, Cagliari, Genoa and Udine (which means their next away match is now scheduled for Inter v Pisa in January 2026). Verona fans instead will sit out: Como, Lecce, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Naples and Cremona (next away game is scheduled in Cagliari in February 2026). Pisa was supposed to be followed by 4,000 fans in Milan but tickets at the third tier of the San Siro were eventually sold to locals and tourists.
Atalanta and Lazio flex
Despite a goalless game, Atalanta v Lazio didn’t disappoint in the stands. The locals celebrated their team’s 118th birthday with a tifo involving the whole stadium. Visiting fans instead celebrated in style the 30th anniversary of a historical tifo (Lazio v Juventus 1995) stating “Noi siamo i biancoblù” (we are the white and blues) as thousands of hands wearing white and blue gloves clapped in unison throughout the game. Atalanta ultras instead replicated the tifo feat in their midweek game against Slavia Praha asking the team to “light my fire” before lighting up several flares.
Roma silenced
Roma’s Curva Sud remained again silent in the first 15 minutes of their games against Inter and Viktoria Plzen in solidarity with six ultras still jailed in Nice (seven were released on bail last week). The protest will obviously continue until freedom is achieved.
Napoli go Dutch
It was “Minority Report” in the Netherlands as 180 Napoli ultras wandering in Eindhoven city centre were pushed away and arrested by local police just because “a certain atmosphere” was building up (same for four PSV ultras). Nobody was hurt, no clashes happened but rather prevented. It’s not the first time though as a similar treatment in Europe was previously given to Lazio fans in Seville and Enschede in recent years.
Derby del Tronto
Bayern Munich Südkurve never forget about their good friends at Samb and showed off a banner during their Champions League home fixture against Club Bruges: “win or lose, Picchio (Ascoli nickname) is shit. San Benedetto queen of Marche (region)”. Derby del Tronto was finally played out in the Marche region after a 39-year wait. The first game in Ascoli in the league was won by the locals 1-0, whilst Samb had the upper hand three days later as they knocked out their rivals in the Serie C cup on their own turf. As we anticipated, no away fans for both fixtures were allowed in both grounds but home fans were still trying to make the most of it as you can see in these videos. Ascoli ultras first displayed a banner on the eve of the game stating that “there’s no derby without our enemies”. Their Samb counterparts welcomed teams on the pitch with hundreds of home-made red and blue flags and the banner stating “Tornati dall’inferno col fuoco nelle vene, innalziamo al cielo le nostre bandiere” (returned from Hell with fire in our veins, we raise our flags to the sky).
Bologna fans travelled in good numbers to Romania – 3,000 were supporting the Rossoblu in Bucharest as they returned to victory in Europe after 23 years (last time in 2002 in Teplice in the now defunct Intertoto Cup).
Torino unveiled their River Plate-inspired third kit – famously the two clubs have enjoyed a solid relationship since the Superga air disaster and one of the Curva Maratona group (Cast 1983) has been twinned with their Argentine brothers for years. On the other side, the Granata have enjoyed a long friendship with Genoa who in turn can boast a very good friendship with Boca Juniors (third kit inspired to Xeneizes which ultimately means “Genoese” and you can often spot Boca flags at Marassi). Torino then played Genoa the following weekend (or was it River v Boca?!).
Catania leapfrogged…Catania in the attendance charts when they hosted Benevento in another top of the table clash in Serie C. The visitors were followed by more than 200 ultras and the game became the most attended in the third tier so far this season.
#1 Catania v Benevento: 19,805
#2 Catania v Salernitana: 18,777
#3 Salernitana v Cavese: 14,297
#4 Vicenza v Albinoleffe: 10,238
With Genoa now rock bottom of the league in Serie A, ultras from the Gradinata Nord threw missiles and flares on the pitch five minutes before the end of the game lost against Cremonese – match was halted for five minutes before resuming. Firemen had to come in and remove flares. A similar episode happened in April in the home game against Lazio – on that occasion, the club was fined 25,000 euros with a suspended sentence. Their next home game is against Fiorentina on 9 November.
Modena fans almost sold out their ticket allocation for the much-awaited derby against Reggiana, as 3,557 attended the game in the away end in Reggio Emilia. Before the match, a small group of Modena ultras (around 15) got off their cars and clashed with their Reggiana counterparts on the motorway (according to an audio which circulated on WhatsApp, they were outnumbering their rivals). Clashes with flag poles, sticks and flares ensued. Allegedly, a couple of Modena ultras took a beating, carrying heavy injuries to their faces. Consequently, Reggiana ultras have been banned from their away game in Avellino this weekend. Modena fans could instead be prevented from travelling to Frosinone next week.
“All to Como by train!” announced sarcastically a leaflet printed and widespread by Curva Sud Verona ahead of their “away game” on the lake, which was the first of several banned trips after the clashes in Pisa. The message is clearly mocking authorities and their alleged control over safety issues. “Curva Sud supporters are organizing the trip to Como by train. Meeting points are available at various stations along the Milan Central – Como San Giovanni trainline so to arrive together at Como “secondary station,” the “closest” to the stadium. For more information regarding security checks, please contact the relevant authorities.”
Because of offensive chants against their president Lotito (now also a Senator of the Italian Republic…), some Lazio fans have been banned as they accessed Stadio Olimpico gates prior of their game against Torino. Tickets for the away end in Pisa instead had sold out in less than an hour (1,100) but Lazio fans have eventually been banned from attending the game in Tuscany just 48 hours before kick-off. They have been able to ask for a refund but, according to Pisa official website, this had to be claimed before 8pm on Thursday 30th October. All this controversially happened after Lazio ultras had started to ask to all fans travelling to Arena Garibaldi to bring an Italian flag with them. This would have been interpreted as provocative behaviour in a political contest. Other sources quoted authorities mentioning big clashes from the 1983-84 season, which seems odd to consider 41 years later. Other heavy clashes also happened in 1987. How long until a proper competent authority is established in order to defend fans’ rights? Anything similar to the FSA in the UK would (maybe) help the cause.
After their brand new away banner displayed away at Roma (with just the word “MILANO” on it), Inter ultras had another new banner to unveil for their home fixture against Fiorentina – they welcomed the team with flares and balloons outside the San Siro, then displayed a very long banner covering the whole of the Green Second Tier with the words “Secondo Anello Verde” which has then replaced every other banner displayed in the Inter home end in the last few seasons. With an inquiry still ongoing, this move is mostly due to legal reasons.
You can follow Federico’s weekly updates from the Curva on his Calcio Express substack.