The night of September 26 He will be remembered by many more for issues that should be far from the football fields than for sport. Several thousand red-and-white fans confirmed firsthand that within them there are dangerous elements that have nothing to do with the sport and its values, people who take refuge in the supposed love of certain colors to export their hatred. In it Rome Olympic a flare coming from the red and white sector He ended up in the middle of a section of Roman fans, children, adults, the elderly who fortunately knew how to avoid an element that has skewed several lives on soccer fields.
We reproduce below the Official Communiqué of the club: “Hau ez da gure stylea”
Athletic Club wants to show zero tolerance in situations like the one that occurred at the Olympic Stadium in Rome
Athletic Club wants to express its strongest condemnation of the unacceptable acts carried out by a minority of people who went to the Europa League match against AS Roma and who were located in the visiting stands.
During the match, this small group lit flares and threw some of them into the local stands, contravening safety regulations and tarnishing the image of our fans, known for their exemplary behavior and unconditional support for the team in any circumstance.
These attitudes do not represent the historical values of Athletic Club, such as respect, sportsmanship and coexistence. The club always works to promote a positive atmosphere at sporting events, both in San Mamés and when traveling, and will fight tirelessly to ensure that there are no attitudes that endanger the safety of attendees or tarnish the reputation of our fans. . As Valverde expressed at the end of the match: “For all of us, football is a party. And this is not football, we don’t like it.”
Athletic Club, in collaboration with the competent authorities, is already taking the necessary measures to identify those responsible and ensure that the corresponding sanctions are applied. The Club will work to eradicate these behaviors, zero tolerance. This minority does not represent our fans. Captain Oscar de Marcos, along with Iñaki Williams, have let this minority of fans know at the conclusion of the match that their attitude “is inadmissible.”
Athletic thanks the vast majority of its followers for their behavior in Rome, they continue to demonstrate their commitment to the Club and to the values that make us unique and they have demonstrated it again in a trip of 3,000 people to the Italian capital without any incident and proudly displaying our colors and identity.
Athletic Club wishes to apologize to AS Roma and its fans who have been affected by the attitude of these people.
Ertzaintza-Italian Police collaboration
The Ertzaintza is collaborating with the Italian Police in the identification of the alleged Athletic Club fans who launched flares against the AS Roma fans in the match played by both teams this past Thursday in the Italian capital, as reported by the Basque advisor of Security, Bingen Zupiria.
Zupiria, who in statements to the media in the Basque Parliament has appealed to “respect, sportsmanship and coexistence”, has denounced that these types of acts “attack respect for people, call into question sportsmanship, and are a attack on coexistence.
The counselor recalled that last year there were “moments and circumstances that should not have occurred in some football competitions.”
For this reason, he has appealed to sports fans to prevent this type of situation from “occurring again.” Zupiria also recalled that this coming Thursday three sporting events “with European projection” will be held in Euskadi, in reference to the Real Sociedad football matches in San Sebastián; and Athletic Club, in Bilbao; and the Baskonia basketball game, in Vitoria-Gasteiz.
«I think it is everyone’s responsibility that we act and behave and be respectful of the fans of other clubs; that we behave with sportsmanship; and that we facilitate coexistence between all the people who participate in these sporting events or come close to them,” said Zupiria.
The counselor, who highlighted that the Ertzaintza “has always demonstrated” that it has “the capacity to respond to this type of events”, stressed that “there is no data” that points to a resurgence of violence in sports environments in the Basque Country.
