“They even cleaned the square”

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Sanremo has its city center back on Friday. The cobblestones are sparkling clean. People stroll leisurely through the pedestrian area. No need to queue at the ice cream shop. And also the street musicians can be heard again. Dolce Vita as if nothing had happened.

Thursday looked very different. The fans of FC Basel actually wanted to go to Nice for the game. But the French stopped the 15 fan buses at the border in Ventimiglia. The French Ministry of the Interior feared riots at the stadium and banned the Swiss from traveling to Nice.

The show must go on – then stop in Italy

Either way, the party must rise. The Muttenzer corner soon called for people to watch the race in Sanremo. So it rolled on, the blue Basel roller. First via Via Giocomo Matteotti, then past the Ariston Theater to the piazza, where the audience screen that was brought along was set up. However, FCB fans have not asked anyone.

“It was about 1:30 pm. Then this crowd of young men came through our pedestrian zone,” recalls Maurizio Merico, 58, of the Bar Melody, “we were scared, really panicked. There were hundreds of guys. They were drunk.” But in the end, according to the landlord, it turned out well. “You could order coffee or a coke from us. We didn’t serve them beer.”

FCB fans also marched past the Compagnia del Gelato ice cream shop. “Some bought ice cream. They spoke German, some spoke English, one even Italian,” says Ilaria Donato (20). They were sweet boys,” they sang, drummed, roared, waved their flags. But they behaved well. They even cleaned the square at the end of the game». The ice cream vendor pulls out an FCB sticker. “They stuck it on the glass front for us,” Ilaria’s colleague Azzurra Genovese (21) adds.

«The Swiss were very nice»

Guitarist Eugenio (44) has no chance against the chants, the drum roll, the deafening good mood. He has his place in the alley. But on Thursday afternoon he had to put his instrument down for a while. Nevertheless, the native Moldavian is enthusiastic about the unexpected visitor. “The Swiss were very nice. They also gave me a few euros,” says the busker, “everything was perfect, no problem.”

Roberta Rota (52) is used to other target groups. The Italian offers glitter jewelry from Swarovski in the baby pink sales room. «Suddenly yesterday this great parade appeared. It was a complete mess. The fans blocked the alley in front of the Ariston Theater. I didn’t even know what was happening, I was a little confused. Nobody told us anything.” But there was no aggression, everything went well. “I wonder why France didn’t let the fans into the country.”

Andreea Radulescu (34) was also in the middle of the action. The Romanian runs a pub on the square with her partner. «The rush started just after noon and lasted until midnight. There were maybe 400 people. The fans ordered an aperitif from us and then watched the match. They sang and drank beer,” the landlady recalls, “everything was relaxed until the police came. But even after that there was no problem. As far as I’m concerned, the Swiss can come back at any time, three to four times a week if I like it.”

Source: Blick