Canepas on police protection after FCZ's relegation "Move into a hotel and don't walk the dog"
Heliane and Ancillo Canepa talk about their love for FC Zurich in the football talk show Heimspiel on blue Sport. The relegation year is also discussed. The two were placed under police protection at the time.
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- Heliane and Ancillo Canepa were under police protection after FC Zurich's relegation in 2016.
- In the football talk show Heimspiel on blue Sport, the two talk about the situation at the time and reveal that the reactions of FCZ fans were predominantly positive despite relegation.
- The Canepas confirm that the negative reactions often took place on the internet: "In 99 percent of cases, we were always greeted by the fans in a decent and friendly manner."
- Ancillo Canepa is also adamant, despite the sporting failure of the time: "The year we were relegated was one of the best years we have experienced at FCZ."
On May 25, 2016, FC Zurich was relegated to the Challenge League after 28 years in Switzerland's top division. For fear of possible fan reactions, Ancillo and Heliane Canepa were placed under police protection at the time. But, as they both report, this might not have been necessary.
"We had personal protection. At the time, they wanted us to go to the hotel," Heliane Canepa recalls in the football talk show Heimspiel on blue Sport. However, the police's announcement came to nothing: "Because of the dog, I said that was out of the question."
Heliane Canepa also ignored the instruction not to go to the Allmend under any circumstances. "Everyone said: 'Don't go into the Allmend with the dog! The dog looked at me and I couldn't resist him. I went to the Allmend and it was wonderful. It was the best walk I've ever had with him," reveals the 77-year-old.
The reason: the fan reactions back then were not at all as expected. "Cyclists rode past and patted me on the back, saying: 'That'll be fine. I heard so much love and comforting words that I wondered whether we were fooling ourselves. Nobody attacked us, nobody was mean."
Fans are decent in "99 percent of cases"
Husband Ancillo Canepa also confirms that the negative reactions often take place on the internet: "If you were to read on social media - which we don't do - then you would have the feeling that there are only enemies everywhere, and, and, and. But we've experienced it differently in all these years."
They never actually have any problems when they are in public or meet people. "In 99 percent of cases, we have always been greeted by the fans in a decent and friendly manner," assures the FCZ president.
The season in the Challenge League was particularly special in this respect. Although he does not want to experience relegation again, it was "one of the best years" with FC Zurich, Canepa reveals.
"New stadiums, new clubs. Fans who came with us everywhere. I remember well when the police hyped up the first match in Schaffhausen: 'Oh, the FCZ fans are coming, close all the windows'. But the fans have been praised this year for the way they supported us in the Challenge League. No problem."
