From correspondents in Rome
September 26, 2006 PALERMO is hoping to change the stereotypical view that Sicily is the home of the mafia, by distributing anti-corruption t-shirts to West Ham United fans before Friday's (AEST) UEFA Cup first round, second leg.
The move comes after the sale of t-shirts before the first leg in London which read: "Hammers (West Ham's nickname) against the Mafia."
The Palermo t-shirts say: "The mafia disgust me. Liberty is 'Cosa Nostra'," the Italian nickname for the mafia which translated literally means 'Our thing'.
"It's the way that we have chosen to give the English fans a welcome to our land, a way in which to put an end to the incident with the shirts which put the word mafia next to the city of Palermo," said Sicily governor Salvatore Cuffaro overnight.
The only difference is that for their offensive t-shirts you had to pay £7 ($17.6), while ours will be given as presents to say welcome and goodbye.
"Goodbye, because Palermo will win on Thursday and West Ham will go out of the UEFA Cup. Of that I am sure."
The Hammers to get hammered on Thursday!!! Go Palermo... they have to win, they took our UEFA spot!
'Very few of us have any idea whatsoever of what life is like living in a goldfish bowl, except of course, for those of us who are goldfish.'
- Graham Taylor