Sicilian derby

The Sicilian derby (Italian language: "Derby di Sicilia", "Derby siciliano") is a local derby between Italian football clubs Calcio Catania and U.S. Città di Palermo. Catania and Palermo are the two main cities on the island of Sicily, and the teams are fierce rivals. However, they have seldom played each other within the Italian football league system, because in many seasons they have played in separate divisions of the league. The first time the Sicilian derby took place nationally was on November 1, 1936, at Palermo, at the Serie B level, and ended in a 1-1 draw. The Sicilian derby has been played six times in Serie A: it was won twice by Palermo, and ended in a draw in the remaining four fixtures. The teams have also met in local Sicilian competitions, and friendly matches.

The most notorious derby was on February 2, 2007, when 40 year-old policeman Filippo Raciti was killed in Catania by severe liver injuries during riots following the derby. [cite web |url=http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/16622154.htm | author=Miami Herald | title=CONI responds to deadly soccer rioting | accessdate=2007-02-05] The events led FIGC commissioner Luca Pancalli to indefinitely suspend all professional and amateur football games in the country. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/6326513.stm|author=BBC |title=Italian league halted by violence|accessdate=2007-02-03|format=|work=]

For the 2007 season, all Palermo fans were banned from Catania's Stadio Massimino for the Catania-Palermo leg on December 2, 2007. Catania subsequently proceeded to defeat Palermo 3-1, culminating in a historic win for Catania in their derby, making it the first in Serie A.

List of Sicilian derby results

Catania vs Palermo

References