Racist insults to the referee, game suspended in Venice. The Federation: “Case not isolated”
VENICE – When he called the police after returning to the locker room, with the match between the Allievi di Riva Malcontenta and VFC Venezia suspended before the 90th anniversary, Marjan Gega – 23 years old, Albanian, Venetian and referee of the Aia section of Venice – said of having closed the dispute early for racist insults from the stands. «He comes home with a rubber dinghy», the sentence that prompted him to say enough after two expulsions among the hosts, a management of the contest discussed and the offenses by the Riva Malcontenta fans. Fans who are the parents of the same players. The referee still told the policemen that he felt hostage in his closet, although a few minutes later the police, upon his arrival, found him alone in the stadium without anyone having kidnapped him or was waiting for him at the exit.
THE FIGC
The case will not go unnoticed “also because it is not the first this year” admits, dejected, Bepi Ruzza, president of the Venetian Football Federation. «When similar events occur, we must reflect – continues Ruzza – especially when adults behave like this. The referee is, for better or for worse, one of us: even our boys play, do well or make mistakes. He is alone, he must decide in a moment without the possibility of repeating himself. If we fail to understand this, it is good for our children to go to other sports. They are not isolated cases, they always happen a little more often in the youth teams and where you should play for fun. I don’t understand why we can’t applaud the referee ». This while The Hague Veneto explained that it will speak about a decision taken.
THE REPORT
All facts on which today the sports judge of Venice will be called to make a decision starting from the referees report. What Marjan Gega wrote in his report about the Sunday morning match in Malcontena is not known but it can be spoken without too much difficulty given the tone of the call to 113. To the agents, who had explained it to him, the referee said not to wanting to report anything: if he will, he will do it within hours. A question that at the moment seems destined to remain at the level of sports justice. The wait is for tomorrow when the sentence is expected.
“NOTHING OF ALL THIS”
The management of Riva Malcontenta explains: «As far as the racist insult is concerned, we totally deny that there was, we categorically exclude it. In addition – explain from the company – we do not minimize any other insults to the referee but we would like to point out that ours is a company committed to social issues. How we reject those who speak under the nets and shaking: they are accusations outside the world that are addressed to us ».