On the occasion of the football match valid for the Serie D Italian Cup between AS Reggina 1914 and ASD Nocerina Calcio 1910, played last 22 October at the “Oreste Granillo” Municipal Stadium in Reggio Calabria, the Police seized, from unknown persons, numerous homemade explosive devices, smoke bombs, a metal knuckleduster and various blunt objects, including two plastic sticks with iron core, found inside the rest area reserved for supporters of the visiting team and cleverly hidden there.
The approximately 300 Nocerina fans, many of whom belong to the most extreme groups of organized fans, have demonstrated a non-collaborative and provocative attitude since their arrival in the city, revealing the intent to create disturbances to public order and safety.
In fact, during their journeys to the sports facility, many of them set off numerous firecrackers and lit colored smoke bombs along the main urban arteries. This attitude then continued as soon as they arrived in via Mercalli, at the entrance to the guest sector.
The public order device set up for the occasion and the constant mediation activity carried out by the DIGOS staff prevented direct contact between the fans, guaranteeing the regular running of the sporting event, given that, as the news of the behavior of the Campania fans spread, the local organized groups attempted to get closer to the former.
Although the two teams had not faced each other since 2011, the rivalry between their respective fans appeared far from dormant; during the match, in fact, offensive chants arose from the away section aimed at the Amaranth supporters, attributable to the historical twinning between the Reggio fans and the Salerno fans, their bitter rival, as well as to the friendly relations between the Nocerina and Catanzaro fans, who are also traditionally hostile to the Reggio team.
At the end of the match, the visiting fans were escorted to the edge of the Province. The public order service ended without further critical issues for the safety of people and there were no scuffles or damage to people or things.
However, Digos personnel are proceeding to reconstruct the facts, also thanks to the footage from the Scientific Police, in order to identify the authors.