The obsessive hatred with which the Naples team is received in the North resonates with the subtle violence displayed in the official discourse of newly formed separatist leagues in the same area of the country. When Naples plays in affluent Milan, they are taunted with the same slogans and the grotesque hymns composed by the Lombard League for its political propaganda. Bergamo and Verona, probably the wealthiest towns in Italy, are the most inhospitable to the Southerners. When the teams of Bari, Naples, and even Rome play there, banners are displayed that echo common accusations against the South. Laziness and the Mafia are the favoured topics both in and outside the stadium.
Unemployment becomes an insult hurled at the rival supporters, who deserve it and choose it.
In Verona, the local supporters salute their unwealthy counterparts of the South by waving swastikas and 100,000 lira notes. This feud caused interesting repercussions during the World Cup. The Argentinean team was abusively received in all the Italian cities of the North because Maradona, a Naples player, was in it. In Naples, in turn, the local spectators applauded Argentina, and in overt dissent from the predominant stereotype they welcomed the English supporters with a gigantic warm banner. The second factor which informs the relationship between football and the general public I call a sewer factor.