It was known that the Curva Sud would be protesting during the game against Genoa today, but they went a little bit further than just silence.
Milan’s Curva Sud have been at the centre of a couple of recent events. Firstly did not make the short trip to Turin for the Juventus game last Saturday, in protest at the ticket prices charged by the home side.
They also decided to make their feelings known in light of the situation that surrounds the club more generally through a statement that they released, and it was packed full of punches.
Then, they published yet another statement saying that they would be protesting for today’s game against Genoa, meaning there would not be the usual flags and chants.
They stuck to their word, and they also let out more of their frustration in a fanzine distributed before the game, as well as in the 80th minute when they walked out of the stadium.
“AC Milan where are you?
“An ancient proverb that the world of football has made its own for a long time goes: ‘The sheep are counted in May’: today WE count them, in this corner that you see without flags and without banners for the first time after several years, after those years in which only WE of the Curva Sud were left to defend a Milan that was brought to the brink of the abyss.
“And even today, 2 years after winning one of the best Scudettos in history, we AC Milan fans once again feel like the only ones to madly love AC Milan and the only ones to always defend it, in spite of managers and important figures of the club: but why do we feel this way?
“Why in these 2 years, in addition to an understandable and legitimate adjustment, has there never been a clear discussion of what the real objectives that the club and the management of Milan have set themselves?
“Why have we only heard about the construction of the new stadium in these 2 years?
“Why has something been missing in these 2 years in transfer windows that probably could have been managed better, also seeing how Milan’s rivals moved? Why have we managed to lose everything possible in these 2 years, often in an unforgivable way?
“Why doesn’t a strong and authoritative voice rise from the club after every defeat for Milan to rebut attacks and falsehoods, especially when they come from certain media shamelessly at the service of Milan’s second team?
“Why, after the shameful refereeing wrongs of these 2 years, even at a European level, have we not heard a decisive and punctual protest in every forum from our club?
“Why in a fundamental sector like communication do Milan managers often leave us stunned with deafening silences, superficial and even grotesque statements?
“Why, despite some bombastic promises, does it seem that the club’s real objective is only qualification for the Champions League, which for Milan is the minimum?
“Here are the reasons why we feel like the only ones who really want a Milan that is worthy of its history and its coat of arms, especially at the beginning of May when the future objectives, strategies and projects to achieve them and however, we don’t even know who Milan’s next coach will be, with all the problems resulting from the delay with which this fundamental decision has not yet been made.
“We are at the end of a mediocre and disappointing season which could have had a better ending but all possible mistakes were made, even on the bench, to end it in the worst possible way; we suffered elimination in the Europa League by an Italian and no voice was raised by the club to say anything to a Rossoneri people who, once again, had believed in us and had pushed Milan until the final whistle: we saw the s**t celebrate the title in the derby and we had to listen to words from the Rossoneri management that made us furious, because there really is a limit to everything.
“Now, however, our patience is over, because we believe that in these 2 years we have given maximum trust to the club and maximum support to the team and the time has come for clarity, to finally know what the real intentions of the owners are, if they really his ambitions coincide with those of the Milan fans who today are tired of just having to participate, of having to settle for a Champions League placement when the history and tradition of Milan demands and deserves much more.
“It wasn’t easy to decide not to display our banners and wave our flags, but it’s right to show what San Siro could become when you push the AC Milan fans to the limit, when you underestimate the love and loyalty of a fan base capable of involving his team to win the extraordinary championship 2 years ago, thanks to the creation of a perfect union between those who took to the pitch and those who were in the stands.
“You have enjoyed our faith, you have seen the incessant support of a people madly in love, you know how many of us there are and what we are ready to do for our Milan: what more do you need to take those steps that every Milan fan asks of you? What are you waiting for to answer with facts, not with chatter, to the questions that every AC Milan fan asks you, suffering and rooting for that AC Milan which is not a brand, not a company, which is not a factory but which is, instead, entirely our life?
“Evaluate and choose your future steps carefully, there is no more time to waste dear gentlemen, if you want to continue to have the unparalleled support of all the Rossoneri people who always and only have Milan in their hearts!
“Nervo, our dearest friend and great ultras, has been struck by a very painful loss and to make him feel the closeness of the entire curve we will display the CURVA SUD MILANO banner today only and exclusively for the time necessary to give a worthy farewell to his mother.
“Forza Nervo, your Curva is with you.”