Sideline behavior: Complaints force Clericus Cup fans to tone it down

Published: 2008-01-24

ROME (CNS) -- Complaints of excessive noise levels by sleepy residents have forced fans of a priestly soccer series to try to tone it down during weekend matches. Fans are now banned from using megaphones, drums, tambourines and boomboxes to cheer on their favorite team, said organizers of the Clericus Cup tournament. Now in its second season, the popular Clericus Cup kicked off at the end of 2007 with 16 teams of seminarians and priests studying in Rome vying for the 2008 championship title. The games are played on two hilltop fields overlooking St. Peter's Basilica, at 9 and 10:30 a.m. Saturdays and 2:30 and 3:45 p.m. Sundays -- a time many Romans lie down for an afternoon siesta after a heavy meal. In fact, residents in the vicinity of the soccer fields had complained that any ruckus at those hours was a disturbance of the peace, said a Jan. 22 press release from tournament organizers. The code of silence was to go into effect Jan. 26.

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