Footballers’ brawl endangers calcio storico

The first game of historical soccers 2006 tournament may be its last. Sundays game spelled trouble for this strange hybrid of popular tradi-tion which transforms Santa Croces piazza into a rugby match turned battlefield. After almost ten minutes of inter-team brawl, the tournament was suspended, to the great disappointment of the crowds gathered to enjoy the annual event. Vice police commissioner Benedetti and com-mander of the Digos investigative police force went down into the field in a futile attempt to restore order.  The only good news was that there were no serious casualties. The fight was about the participation of unregistered players on the white team, and the ball was no where to be seen. We intend to present a petition, says Forza Italia councillor Massimo Pieri, ex-vice president of Calcio Storico Committee, asking that the event be cancelled this year. A year of reflection may prove useful. It may be our chance re-start the games next year with entirely new players. In the meantime, Sports and Popular Traditions Councillor Eugenio Giani is taking his time to make the final decision about this complex event.