The San Siro stands were not just places of fervent support and footballing identity, but veritable centers of economic and criminal power. This is the stark picture that emerges from the ruling filed by Milan's preliminary hearing judge, Rossana Mongiardo, after the massive "Doppia Curva" raid in September 2024. A structured, violent, and profitable system, capable of generating over €100 a year in Milan's Curva Sud alone, and intertwined, on the Inter side, with mafia-related protection linked to the 'Ndrangheta.
Business, violence and a pact between the fans
The approximately three hundred pages of explanatory memoranda reconstruct a reality in which AC Milan's Curva Sud operated as an autonomous organization, based on intimidation and violence, without sharing business management with other groups. This tight control guaranteed constant revenue from ticket touting, merchandising, and the management of parking lots around the stadium. On the other hand, Inter's Curva Nord is described as a hub for illicit business, protected by a mafia-like relationship with the Bellocco clan, aggravated by fully recognized mafia association. This framework also includes the non-aggression pact between the two fan bases, designed to avoid conflict and maximize profits.
On June 17, the judge handed down a total of nearly 90 years in prison to 16 defendants, fully upholding the prosecution's case brought by prosecutors Paolo Storari and Sara Ombra of the Milan District Anti-Mafia Directorate. All charges were upheld, from the 2024 murder of Antonio Bellocco, scion of the Bellocco clan, to the criminal organizations that controlled the business of the football stadiums.
The ultras leaders, the mafia and the subservience of the clubs
The heaviest sentences, ten years each, were handed down to the leaders of the organized fan groups: Andrea Beretta for Inter Milan and Luca Lucci for AC Milan. Beretta, now a cooperating witness, was identified as the leader of the mafia-style conspiracy and the perpetrator of the Bellocco murder, benefiting from mitigating circumstances for his decisive contribution to the investigation, which also uncovered the murder of Vittorio Boiocchi in 2022. Lucci's profile is different, described as a dominant and ruthless figure, capable of exercising power through violence and financial ties, yet without providing any useful evidence to ascertain the truth.
The reasons finally underscore the subservient position in which football clubs found themselves, particularly Inter Milan, which allegedly aided the ultras in order to maintain order in the stadium. This dynamic prompted the Milan Prosecutor's Office to initiate preventive proceedings against the clubs, which are now engaged in severing ties with the most extreme fan bases. In the background, the most serious alarm remains: the 'Ndrangheta's structured entry into the stadiums, which have been transformed into a playground where football becomes merely a front for business, intimidation, and mafia power.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
The article highlights a very dark side of football, but I wonder why no one noticed this before. Violence and mafia ties are a serious problem, but it seems the relevant authorities aren't acting effectively.