Fan Violence Mars Derby and the City of Turin's Wonderful Season

We should be talking about Sunday's Derby della Mole because of its drama. How Andrea Pirlo added another exquisite free kick to its fantastic collection. How Torino fought back to win their first Derby in 20 years, but only after Juve hit the post three times in the second half. How the game added another chapter to a fantastic year in soccer for the city of Turin.

But that's not what we're talking about. Instead, we're talking about yet another round of fan violence.

Fans on both sides were guilty of inexcusable actions in the run-up to kickoff. As Juve's bus arrived at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Torino fans pelted it with rocks, bottles and eggs. Some even rolled fireworks at the coach with the aim of having them explode beneath the wheels. The assault broke one of the bus' windows but fortunately didn't hurt anyone inside.

Unfortunately the same could not be said for what happened inside. Likely in retaliation for the assault on their players outside, a firework came from the Juve traveling section and landed in the Olimpico's Curva Primavera. The subsequent explosions injured 11. Two of the injuries were reported as more severe than the others, but no one was critically hurt.

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The incident is a stain on a season that has been one of the most successful ever for the city of Turin. If Juve wins against Fiorentina on Wednesday and Lazio fails to beat Parma, they will wrap up their fourth consecutive title. Add to that a Coppa Italia final and the team's first trip to the Champions League semifinals since 2003—and the first for any Italian team since 2010—and Juve is flying high again on all fronts.

Their achievements have been augmented by the fantastic campaign spun by their city rivals. Torino originally thought they were out of the Europa League last year after Alessio Cerci, in his last act with the team, missed a penalty that would have given them sixth place and the final qualification slot.

But when Parma was denied a UEFA license the Granata were given a reprieve. They charged through the qualifying rounds and fought through the group to finish second. Their reward was a pairing with Athletic Bilbao—perhaps the worst draw they could have been given.

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After allowing a pair of away goals in a 2-2 first-leg draw, Giampiero Ventura's men made history by becoming the first Italian team to ever win at the San Mames, claiming a 3-2 victory and moving to the round of 16. After losing away to Zenit St. Petersburg with 10 men, they fought valiantly at the Olimpico but only managed to score one of the two goals they needed to level the tie, going out with honor.

These two teams from Turin are visual proof that Serie A is slowly but surely regaining the traction it lost in the wake of Calciopoli and the financial crisis that beset Italy two years later. Juve is assuredly heading back to Europe's top competition to try to repeat the job next year. Torino's victory on Sunday put them only two points behind Fiorentina for sixth, which will almost assuredly be a ticket to a Europa League place as it was a year ago.

Unfortunately the behavior of their fans this week has shoved all of these accomplishments to the side.

Italy has seen more than its fair share of issues with fans this season. Last month a group of Roma fans made waves when they displayed banners insulting the mother of murdered Napoli fan Ciro Esposito. During the last international break Juventus fans directed a massive—and frankly stupid—uproar at former manager Antonio Conte when Claudio Marchisio was injured in national team training that included death threats.

These latest incidents have once again highlighted the worst aspects of this sport we all love rather than putting the spotlight on two bright spots in the Italian game.

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Juve will certainly face sanction for the actions of their fans. Italian news wire ANSA has reported (h/t Football Italia) that video evidence has confirmed that the firework that caused the injuries was thrown by a Juve fan. La Stampa (also via Football Italia) reports that that could mean Juve will face at least a partial stadium closure down the line.

The same report claims that Torino is unlikely to be held responsible for their fans' attack on Juve's bus—the logic of that fails this writer—but could still be punished after their fans lobbed debris at Juve's traveling support after the fireworks were thrown.

Really, though, all these facts shouldn't be what we're talking about. We should be talking about these two Turin teams in terms of what they're doing on the field, and how they have helped Serie A begin to pull itself up to its feet again. Unfortunately, a few fans with no judgement are once again forcing the focus on their stupidity instead of the games.