A deeply felt derby that returns after 39 years has turned into a nightmare for the management of public order:Ascoli-Sambenedettese match valid forGroup B of Serie Cscheduled for Sunday atDuke Stadiumwill be manned by300 agentswith a security plan worthy of a state visit from a controversial leader.
Last Tuesday it was decided to ban travel of just 30 kilometersrossoblù supporterand the fans themselvesAscoli Calciothey will only be able to access the stadium if season ticket holders or season ticket holdersfidelity card. For remaining tickets –3 thousand coupons pulverized in a quarter of an hour– the sale was limited to certain municipalities in theProvince of Ascoli Picenoafter a sort oftyphoid mappingwith which the ‘fiefdoms’ of the Samb were excluded.
The fan map and the Italian Cup derby
The map, drawn up on the basis of the affiliations to the ‘Ascoli club and the ‘Sambenedettese club’, was also applied for the other derby, that ofItalian Cupscheduled for Wednesday, just three days later but aSan Benedetto del Trontoagain this time with theguest area closed. Thus, for example, the residents of Spinetoli will go to San Benedetto but not to Ascoli, the opposite for those of Castel di Lama, with the paradox that in nine municipalitiesmixed typhoidthe ban on ticket sales will apply to both matches. These are Colli del Tronto, Castorano, Castignano, Cossignano, Carassai, Montalto Marche and Montedinove, mostly equidistant from the two cities.
History and rivalry of the Marche derby
The last time the ‘Queen of the Marches‘ and the ‘ teamPalm Riviera‘ they crossed paths dates back toJune 1st 1986in Serie B: it ended with a 0-0 which allowed Ascoli to return to Serie A and Samb not to be relegated but despite the promotion the Juventus fans criticized the team for not having sent their rivals to Serie C. After all, for almost a century (the first dates back to1927) il ‘Marche derby‘ o ‘Tronto derby‘is a sport apart, a sporting, social and cultural contrast: the medievalCity of a Hundred Towersagainst the modernity ofCity of Palmsthe hinterland against the coast,Ascoli olives contro fish broth, Costantino Rozziagainst another sanguine president likeDomenico Roncarolothe right-wing Juventus fans against the Rossoblù fans open to left-wing groups. In the collective imagination thepitch invasion in Ascoli in 1970by hundreds of visiting fans and the alleged throwing of oranges stuffed with razor blades by theblack and white ultrasnel 1977.