A provocative procession in the center by three hundred Neapolitan fans dressed in black and hooded, as if they were part of a squadron of sad memory; a failed raid for a short time at the headquarters of L'Unione Sarda ; the clashes at the end of the race with the Sconvolts, one arrested and at least seven injured among the police.
This is the balance of what took place on the day in which Carnival parades were banned in the city: a football match became an occasion for violence and a pretext for breaking all the rules. "Forcing them by force to get on the buses would have meant having to unleash an urban warfare in the center", commented the commissioner Paolo Rossi late at night.
Already in the early afternoon, the Neapolitan fans, who arrived at Elmas airport from various parts of Italy, refused to get on the buses to the stadium, keeping the city center in check for an hour. They marched up to Unipol Domus, sticks of flags in hand to intimidate, insulting Cagliari and Cagliari. And a small group of violent men presented themselves threateningly in front of the headquarters of L'Unione Sarda, trying to break in.
THE BUFFER - The plan organized by the police has been completely skipped and has been accused by many parties. In the end - "for reasons of public order" - the Neapolitan ultras won: escorted by policemen, carabinieri and armored vehicles, they conquered the city. Sources close to the mayor describe Paolo Truzzu as annoyed and dissatisfied with the management of the situation.
A story destined to end in Parliament, condemned by the Democratic Party and the Brothers of Italy: "What happened is a shame". The deputy of FdI, Salvatore Deidda, will ask for an answer from the Minister of the Interior and “convincing explanations for this very serious organizational flaw. I find no justification for what happened in Cagliari, before the match: fans of the Neapolitan team authorized to parade throughout the city, up to the stadium ". It is also important to understand why "after getting off the plane they were let go to the train station, instead of being accompanied directly to the stadium".
