Outrage in Venice as parents fined for children playing football

Parents have taken a stand against the authorities of a beautiful Italian city after their children incurred financial penalties for playing football in public. 14 youngsters were reported to the police for kicking a ball back and forth noisily on the Venetian island of Murano, reports suggest. The children, aged between 12 and 13, were playing in the island's Pino Signoretto square when an angry neighbour lodged a complaint with the local authorities, suggesting they were creating a "public disturbance".

Officers took the details of each child involved before summoning their parents and ordering them to pay a €50 (£43) on their behalf. Antonio Trampus, the father of one of the children involved, said his son had called him "in tears" and accused the police of not "listening to reason". The penalty was for "creating a disturbance to the public peace and a danger for people in transit", according to an official notice published in the Italian press.

"They could have called us parents and asked us to take our children home," Mr Trampus told La Stampa. "Instead, they immediately took their names and addresses. We will not pay."

He said the group of parents are planning to take their case to the city's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro.

While the fines were imposed on the grounds of 2019 regulations, which forbid ball games in all of Murano's squares other than San Bernardo, Mr Trampus argued that Pino Signoretto had only recently been created and was yet to be added to the list of banned areas.

Local reports also speculated that the fines had been enforced because of the children's age, with ball games permitted in San Bernardo only among children up to 11-years-old.

As well as drawing the ire of mothers and fathers, who face a fine of up to €500 (£435) if the initial amount is not paid within 60 days, the incident has also sparked a wider debate about whether the police response was proportionate for a relatively commonplace matter.

Local councillor Marco Gasparinetti suggested that local authorities should focus on the more pressing issues facing Venice's locals and visitors, as per The Guardian.

He wrote in a post on Facebook: "Were they scammers? Pickpockets? Drug dealers? No, they were the parents of children."

Mr Gasparinetti added that the officers should have simply reprimanded the children and confiscated the ball. "Wouldn't that have been more educational?" he asked. "Common sense and a sense of priority were lacking."