The feeling, reading the news on the net in the last week, is that the weight of the decisions relating to this very important promotion playoff for the C series between Cavese and Brindisi, has fallen more on the shoulders of Prefectures, Police Headquarters and Mayors of half of Italy ( also passing through the ubiquitous Observatory on Sporting Events), rather than those of the National Amateur League and the two sports clubs that are protagonists of the event.
At least, that’s what transpires in the light of the facts.
It begins with the spasmodic search for a stadium suitable for meeting the criteria established by the LND, i.e. a facility outside the regions to which the two teams concerned belong, which has a capacity of at least ten thousand seats, which is as equidistant as possible from the respective city and from these easily accessible.
Thus begins the hunt for the stadium, between hypotheses that chase each other from hour to hour and requests (real or presumed) for availability that have touched many locations in the Center-South.
Initially, we are talking about breaking latest news, which is given as a certain place for the play-off already in the hours following the end of the last day of the championship played on Sunday 7 May.
Then, having received the refusal by the breaking latest news authorities, other hypotheses arise.
Campobasso, which however has a very limited capacity, with various sectors of the stadium still unusable;
San Benedetto del Tronto, from which a quick and dry refusal comes;
L’Aquila, same as above;
Perugia, perhaps more a rumor circulated on the net than a hypothesis actually taken into consideration;
Cosenza, which would respect all the criteria established by the LND (but over which the ghost of old rusts hovers between the local and Cavese fans) and, albeit to a lesser extent, Crotone is also called into question.
In all these cases, where it is known that there have been actual requests for availability, it seems that the respective Prefectures and Police Headquarters have taken the lead and, for various reasons, have denied the availability to host the play-off or, at least, they signaled the inappropriateness.
At a certain point, the hypothesis arises of playing in Matera where, if it is true that the city stadium has a capacity of only seven thousand seats, it is equally true that whoever manages it, i.e. Matera football, seems inclined to arrangement to host the challenge between Cavese and Brindisi.
Availability that however disappeared the following day, when by now only the official news was expected, even directly from the mouth of the mayor of the city of the Sassi, who denies having ever expressed the availability of his administration to host the football event.
And so, just four days after the fateful play-off, here is that Cavese and Brindisi find themselves back to square one.
But suddenly, on Wednesday afternoon, a new hypothesis arises.
Vibo Valentia, with a stadium with only six thousand seats divided between grandstands, steps and a single curve.
What at first seems to be just one of the many hypotheses chasing each other on the web, as the hours go by takes more and more shape as a possible definitive solution.
Until the official arrival, on Thursday, just three days before the play-off, where by now voices of protest are being raised and the postponement of the match between Cavese and Brindisi is being requested.
Yes, because there are rightly those who wonder if, rather than going by way of derogation from the provisions of the NLD regarding the characteristics of the host playing field, at this point it would not be more fair to play the play-off on a two-way match and back, on the respective fields of Cava and Brindisi.
Also because, let’s repeat it, the Vibo Valentia stadium has only six thousand seats, is almost four hundred kilometers from the two cities and can only be reached by bus and car.
But the worst is yet to come and, in fact, like yet another cold shower, here comes yet another anti-fan decision by the palaces of power.
Tickets available for each supporter will be just over fifteen hundred.
Once again it is the alleged reasons of public order that dominate the will of a National Amateur League that no longer seems to have any say in the matter, as well as the two football clubs directly involved in the matter.
The indignation of the fans rises from Cava and from Brindisi and, through the internet and social networks, a hypothesis is making its way which seems to be shared by most and is confirmed by the events of recent days.
In other words, the feeling that the choice of Vibo Valentia as venue for the play-off and the consequent limitation to only three thousand spectators in total (out of a capacity of six thousand seats available) is due to the desire to welcome as few fans as possible in order to have greater control of the public order by the operators who will be busy for the occasion.
After all, three thousand people are much more manageable and controllable than the at least ten thousand initially assumed by the NLD.
And above all, they have a lower cost of ownership.
A putting their hands forward, by those who will have to manage everything, perhaps “preventively” excessive, considering the fact that in the previous matches played this year between Cavese and Brindisi, the two fans never created any accidents, despite the importance of the stake, especially on the occasion of the return match which was played in the Apulian city just two weeks before this play-off.
In all of this, only the Cavesi and Brindisini fans will lose out, forced to suffer the umpteenth decision that limits their freedom of movement and expression, once again for preventive purposes.
Those same fans who, we hope, with their behavior, with their warmth and their passion, will be able to give life to yet another day of celebration, demonstrating to those who sit in the control rooms the futility and speciousness of their decisions.
Giangiuseppe Gassi