Pitch Invasion

Photo credit: pall@s on Flickr, via the Pitch Invasion photo pool.

Photo credit: lucadea on Flickr, via the Pitch Invasion photo pool.

Lazio’s ultras, Irriducibili (Unmovables), are known for their extreme right-wing views and the imprisonment of their leaders last year. This was the culmination of serious failures by the club to deal with the disturbing behaviour of their hardcore fans. As Rob Hughes explained as far back as 2001:
The ultra-extremists of Lazio, calling themselves [...]

The power and resilience of ultras culture today in Europe is interestingly demonstrated by one of the smaller continental team’s fans: the Atalanta ultras. Despite the relative anonymity of their team in Italy, they are renowned for their passion and organisation, as can be seen in this video.

Below the fold, more on the Atalanta ultras.