Serie A Club Genoa's Shirt Removal Antics Result In Fine And Ban

The Serie A disciplinary committee club revealed that Genoa has been hit with a €30,000 ($38,691) fine and "seen striker Giuseppe Sculli banned for a month," according to the AFP. The sanctions stemmed from  incidents during the club's home league game against Siena last April when "hardline 'ultra' fans, having seen their side concede four goals," started to cause problems in the stands. Fans launched flares and "demanded the shirts off the Genoa players' backs" because they did not believe the players were worthy of wearing them. Sculli was the only player who did not give in to the demands. Sculli is known to be the grandson "of a notorious Calabrian mafia boss," and during the incident he went to the stands to negotiate the return of the players' shirts. League execs originally sought a €300,000 ($386,910) fine for Genoa and a ban of three months for Sculli. The prosecutor claimed Sculli had "known all along about the planned protests" (AFP, 10/9).