I was really looking forward to attending a European soccer match. And I was not disappointed. It was like attending a OSU football game in Columbus. Huge crowds, singing and chanting, and a lot of beer drinking. One difference was readily apparent. They sing chants that are much worse than "I don't give a damn about the whole state of Michigan". I cannot repeat what they chant. Suffice it to say "damn" would be considered tame. The other interesting difference you will notice in the pictures is the quarantining of the opposing fans. They do not let anyone sit in the sections nearest the opposing fans. And the opposing fans are surrounded by security personnel. Interestingly even with all that security, the fans of both teams often lobbed firecrackers, smoke bombs and lit flares at each other!
Notice all the green vested security personnel surrounding the opposing team's fans and how they have segregated them from the Roma fans.
Even with all the security personnel, you can see a lit flare being thrown on the field in the video below plus the smoke bombs. I tried to capture the crowd singing their version of a fight song.
I am having a great deal of difficulty posting the video. hope it shows up in the blog.
One of the things we talked about was how fast you would be identified and thrown out of a stadium in the U.S. if you threw a lit flare at a group of people!
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