The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II meant that police resources were so stretched in Scotland that Rangers tie with Napoli at Ibrox had to be moved a day, it also meant that away fans were banned from attending the fixture, an agreement that saw our own fans receive the same treatment for the return fixture in Italy.
Rangers missed out against Sparta Prague last season only for them to fill their stadium with 10,000 kids and their chaperones to boo Glen Kamara, this, however, is an entirely different matter, and attempts to get into the Studio Diego Armando Maradona could have severe consequences.
Napoli fans have a certain “reputation” across Europe and even if Rangers fans had been allowed to travel it would still have been a trip that they would have to have been on their best behaviour and follow instructions from both clubs to the letter.
📺Full interview now on our Youtube channel 🇮🇹 https://t.co/yr01gvNZne https://t.co/KutT2pX3Oi
— The Rangers Review (@RangersReview55) October 25, 2022
There will, of course, be fans travel to Italy and, if you are one of them, The Rangers Review has some sage advice from Michele of @NapoliTickets on Twitter:
“They have to ask away fans who are banned not to travel. If you are coming anyway I would recommend, first of all, Napoli is quite safe but be careful with where you go and how much noise you make.
“There are Napoli fans, well, you can’t call them fans to be honest, but they are sometimes known to cause trouble to away fans, this is rare but I want to say this anyway.
“It’s quite important, please don’t attempt to go to the game. This is not a suggestion or a recommendation I am giving to Rangers fans, this is something serious.
“I would definitely not underestimate this ban, you will be checked multiple times, don’t attempt to get in.”
Football fans who have been around the continent aren’t daft, they know what you can get away with in certain countries and Italy – Naples in particular – is one of those where the police do not mess about. The fans aren’t exactly angels either, type in “Napoli fans fighting” into Google and you will get news story, after news story about their offences – Ajax fans the most recent to end up in hospital.
If you do one thing in Italy, make sure you heed Michele’s advice.