Sunday, February 04, 2007

Soccer Hooliganism Spreads to Italy from England- Brings Strong Reaction

The ANNOTICO Report

 

After an Italian Policeman was killed, and 70 people injured at Friday's top-flight derby match between Catania and Palermo,  the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) suspended indefinitely all matches from children's leagues to the national team's friendly against Romania on Wednesday.

 

(CONI) also urged all clubs to break off all relations with violent fans.

 

The Italian government was now pondering keeping the suspension in place for at least two weeks and holding matches behind closed doors thereafter.

 

Italy Signals Crackdown on Hooligans

ABC News     

Monday, February 5, 2007

Stadiums which fail to adopt tough anti-hooliganism measures could be banned from staging football games next season, Italy's top sporting body warned on Sunday.

The ultimatum came after the recent death of a policeman in post-match riots.

At an emergency meeting after all soccer in Italy was suspended indefinitely, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) also urged clubs to break off all relations with violent fans.

Stunned by the death at Friday's top-flight derby match between Catania and Palermo in Sicily, officials will hold off on deciding how long the suspension will last until after a meeting with the government on Monday.

Italian newspapers said the government was now pondering keeping the suspension in place for at least two weeks and holding matches behind closed doors thereafter.

"If the attack was extraordinary, the response has to be extraordinary as well," Interior Minister Giuliano Amato told La Repubblica  newspaper.

"The fans are risking the possibility of never seeing soccer again - of being without soccer forever, with stadiums empty and barred."

Football stadiums across soccer-mad Italy were silent for the second day in a row with all matches from children's leagues to the national team's friendly against Romania on Wednesday cancelled.

Sunday's meeting by CONI, which was less conclusive than some commentators had wanted, followed national outrage over the death of policeman Filippo Raciti on Friday.

Although brawls at stadiums are common, images of hundreds of hooded fans chasing police and hurling flares shocked a nation basking in the glow of last year's World Cup victory after the indignation of a domestic match-fixing scandal.

A firecracker exploded in Raciti's face, which was initially considered the cause of death, though a prosecutor on Sunday said an autopsy showed it was due to a blow from a blunt object. More than 70 people were injured.

 

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