Italy Striker Giuseppe Rossi Admits He Was Terrified During Serbian Riots

Posted Friday, October 15, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

Villarreal’s Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi has been reflecting on the scenes of unrest and rioting during the Azzurri’s Euro 2012 match with Serbia on Tuesday evening, and confessed to feeling fearful for his well-being.

The fixture was abandoned by referee Craig Thomson after just six minutes of play as flares rained down on the pitch from the end in which the Serbian followers were gathered.

Rossi saw the incident first-hand, and Spanish publication AS reports that the player remarked, “It was the first time I have lived through such a thing. I think this type of situation has nothing to do with sport. My colleagues, and also the Serbian team, felt a lot of fear.

“Furthermore, in the stands were many children, and it's not good for them to see things like that. The players want to play in a peaceful and happy environment in which we can give our best performance. It is possible to encourage your team while respecting the rules.”

Rossi also feels that excluding the Serbian side from the process of qualification altogether would be an extreme punishment to the squad, who played no part in the match being abandoned.

“Expelling Serbia from the European Championship would be an overly excessive punishment for the Serbian players, who have no guilt and they only wanted to play.”