Italy's Football Federation chief hailed last Sunday's round of Serie A matches as "a turning point" in the country's long fight against hooliganism.

"I've seen positive signs," Luca Pancalli said after play ended. "Now we need the courage to continue on this road."

On one level he was right. The anti-hooligan plan Pancalli drew up in conjuction with the Italian government prevented another outbreak of violence like the one in which policeman Filippo Raciti died earlier this month.

Four out of 10 Serie A stadiums were closed to spectators for Sunday's matches after failing to meet safety regulations. In the rest, the visitors' stands were almost deserted, the result of a ban on the block sale of tickets to away fans.

But even at those grounds where the public was allowed in, the atmosphere resembled more an uneasy truce than genuine peace between Italy's hard-core fans and the police, who are the usual target of the ultras' attacks.

There were whistles during the one-minute's silence in memory of Raciti at the Olympic Stadiums in Rome and Turin.

A group of Inter fans were arrested after being discovered in possession of firecrackers outside Chievo Verona's Bentegodi stadium.

On the outskirts of Milan, an 18-year-old referee was attacked by masked youths as he walked to his car at the end of a junior league match.

The next day, Italy's newspapers carried photographs of long queues of fans passing through security checks at Milan's San Siro.

NO CHANGE

In Rome, however, the situation was as it had been before.

One AS Roma season-ticket holder, returning to the Olympic Stadium for the game against Parma, lamented the absence of increased security.

"What happened to zero tolerance? On Sunday, absolutely nothing changed," the 32-year-old, identified simply as Andrea, was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I arrived at the stadium at 2pm, I went through the outer barriers by showing my season ticket, as usual.

"Then, at the turnstile, they looked at my identity card without checking that it corresponded to my season ticket.

"I was expecting to be searched, but instead there was nothing. The policeman just let me pass through."

The conflicting signals sent out by the government also failed to inspire total confidence that the country had turned a page.

Sports minister Giovanna Melandri's assertion that stadiums that did not fully comply with safety regulations would be off-limits to the public seemed to run counter to the decision to open the San Siro.

Italy's most famous ground was opened to AC Milan and Inter season-ticket holders after emergency works to install 28 new turnstiles brought it closer to - but not in line with - the regulations, prompting predicatable accusations that there was one rule for the big clubs and another for the rest.

Beyond the bickering, the next few months promise to be crucial in determining the future shape of Italian football, which has suffered steadily declining attendances in recent years.

Much attention has focused on the importance of renovating the country's outdated and unsafe stadiums.

ULTRA POWER

By the time the full range of security measures has been implemented, getting into the country's grounds will be rather like entering a prison.

Fans will not be able to approach the stadium without first passing through an outer ring of barriers. They will then be frisked at the turnstiles.

Once inside the stadium, rivals supporters will be separated from each other and from the pitch by high transparent barriers.

There will be few visiting supporters. Those brave enough to travel will be escorted into the stadium and then protected by the police throughout the match.

These measures might prevent more deaths like Raciti's, but they will not tackle the root causes of the violence.

They will not break the power of the ultras, who have turned areas of Italy's stadiums into no-go zones for the police.

Nor will they speed up Italy's justice system, whose slow workings fail to deter violent behaviour.

This week a court ordered a youth to perform 20 months of community service for firing a flare that injured an opposition supporter during a match 16 months ago.

"The laws have existed for ages. The problem in the past is that they were never acted on or applied badly," said Roma fan Loredana Giuzio.

Clubs could build new stadiums, but that would not necessarily persuade good fans to return.

"As long as certain people go to the stadium there will always be a bad atmosphere in the stands," said Roma supporter Andrea.

"Many good people have stopped going to the stadium. I keep going because a live match is completely different from watching one on the TV. But I often ask myself: is it worth the hassle?"

(China Daily via Reuters February 16, 2007)