The first comment on the brawl in the central stands between Rosanero fans and Catanzaro sporting director Polito and his family is that of Palermo, clearly biased. The Sicilians defend themselves by speaking of mystifications of reality on «a deplorable scenario, first provoked and then triggered by the unjustifiable conduct of members of the sports director Polito’s family, amply documented by numerous video testimonies». Some clarifications are in order: it is true that Polito’s son reacted badly, but also in the videos cited by the rosanero club you can see the continuous verbal provocations, as well as insults and threats, which did not only involve the Polito family.
For example, it should be explained why the three players sent to the stands by Aquilani (Borrelli, Esteves and Verrengia) were moved several times to various parts of the stadium (even in the press gallery in the second half) given that the only outcome was the insults (and not only) received from three members who had the sole fault of wearing the official tracksuit of the opposing team, without any provocative attitude. Above all, Palermo should explain why, in the videos cited, there is at least one steward who participates in the attack on Polito and his family instead of trying to restore calm.
Lega B, with president Paolo Bedin, spoke second, expressing “its strong disappointment and regret for the episode”.
In the evening, Catanzaro’s reply, more subtle and also focused on not diverting attention from the “historic sporting result” obtained by the team: “It is sad to note how the media attention has focused almost exclusively, and in a clearly oriented manner, on what happened in the stands by some guests of our club. Very little, however, has been said about the aggression suffered by our footballers by individuals who were able to act in complete freedom, just as little relevance has been attributed to the episodes that occurred before, during and after the match. Circumstances which, fortunately, were detected by the sports judge through the heavy fine imposed on the home club and the provision of a supplementary investigation which, we are certain, will contribute to shedding full light on the overall management of the event which left much to be desired”.