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Quote:Tartan Army drank 265,000 pints in 3 days



The Italians may have imposed an alcohol ban before the invasion of the Tartan Army, but it did not stop the Scots eating, drinking and being extremely merry.

According to Bari authorities, the typical Scotland fan drank an incredible five gallons of beer during a three-day stay.

The figures, from the Bari Traders Association, showed nearly 7000 Scots fans got through almost 265,000 pints of beer while in the southern Italian city where they watched Scotland lose 2-0 to in a Euro 2008 qualifier.
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While England fans were berating players and manager after beating Andorra 3-0, the Tartan Army, who have won numerous awards from Fifa and Uefa for friendliness, embellished their reputation for being in very good cheer despite losing.

The figures for beer consumption were all the more astonishing since Bari imposed an alcohol ban on the day of the game from 2pm.

Bari's mayor ordered the city-wide ban on alcohol sales after crowd violence during an Italian league game in Sicily led to the death of a policeman.

Bari traders say Scotland fans, judged the world's friendliest during the 1998 World Cup, spent some £2m in the city over three days - more than is normally collected over the entire winter.

Bari Traders' Association chairman Benny Cambobasso said: "The hotels, restaurants and pubs are absolutely delighted. They have taken several months' worth of takings in just three days and, despite the amount of alcoholic consumption, there were absolutely no public order problems."

Scotland fans were spotted swapping hats with the local Italian police at an event in Bari Town Hall, where they were urged by officials to be on their best behaviour. A tartan party was even organised on Bari's main beach, the Panee Pomodoro.

"The Scottish culture is to drink to socialise," said Mr Cambobasso.

"It's a form of togetherness, which is not in our culture. The people of Bari regarded the Scottish invasion with curiosity and there were no episodes of violence from the police reports."

It was a far cry from Ukraine in October last year when the Tartan Army's unofficial standard bearer, Spud the Piper, was among dozens of fans injured after being attacked by thugs 24 hours after Scots fans were ambushed by skinheads in the Ukrainian capital, with some treated for broken bones and cuts.

Hamish Husband, spokesman for the Association of Tartan Army Clubs, said: "The objective is always to enjoy ourselves and hopefully the team will too by winning. It is an art for us. We feel we are world leaders in football fandom and we could act as consultants.

"Fans from other countries already ask us how we do it. We feel we can go and rescue economies of the Third World. We are open to friendlies in Africa and Asia.

"The English have too high expectations and we have been criticised for having too low expectations, but now the team is doing well and we are number one in the world of national fandom."

The last time the Tartan Army converged on Italy was in March 2005, and fans were praised for their impeccable behaviour which led David Taylor, the SFA chief executive, to describe them as the "best fans in Europe".

Despite Scotland lying second bottom of their World Cup qualifying group at the time, some 12,000 fans outsang the Italians after watching Scotland being defeated 2-0 by Italy.
http://www.tartanarmyclubs.com