Italian police kill football fan

A football fan has been shot dead by police following fighting between rival supporters in Italy, officials say.

 

Local authorities said there had been a "tragic error" when police intervened to quell violence between fans of Roman team Lazio and Turin-based Juventus.

 

The victim, a Lazio fan, was shot during the clash at a motorway restaurant near Arezzo in Tuscany.

 

The Lazio fans were travelling to a match against Inter Milan, which has been suspended following the death.

 

Other games were starting 10 minutes late with players and officials wearing black armbands.

 

The Juventus fans were reportedly on their way from Naples to an away match against Parma.

 

"It was a tragic error," said Arezzo police chief Vincenzo Giacobbe.

 

"Our agent had intervened to prevent the brawl between these two groups, who had not been identified as fans," Mr Giacobbe said, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

 

Earlier reports said the fan had been killed during the brawl.

 

News of the violence apparently sparked clashes between fans and police in Bergamo, where Atalanta were playing AC Milan.

 

That match was also suspended.

 

In April the Italian government introduced a law aimed at stamping out football hooliganism.

 

It was enacted after a policeman was killed in rioting at a match in Sicily in February.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/7089485.stm

More riots:

In Bergamo, where Atalanta were playing AC Milan, police and fans clashed ahead of the match.

 

The game was abandoned 10 minutes after kick-off, when fans tried to smash down a barrier and force their way onto the pitch.

 

Come on Italy, get your act together

I never get why they're always fighting when it comes to football.

 

Come on, it's not a big deal to lose!

That's kinda stupid to fight because the other team scored and they'll win...

 

I guess this is the true side of human nature. Violence. Pure Violence.

What can we say?....it's been an awful sunday....What happened to Bergamo was shocking....but the hooligans made the worse in the evening, devastating some police buildings and the italian olimpic committee palace....THERE WERE BOTH SUPPORTERS OF LAZIO AND AS ROMA JOINT AGAINST THE POLICE!

The death of that poor guy was just the chance to make new fightings against the cops....The policeman didn't have to shoot the fire at all, and in that way (TO HUMAN RANGE!), even because it wasn't a fight organized by hooligans...., but this doesn't mean with the riot against the system

This dead guy was an honest 26 year old person who loved music and after a night of work as a dj wanted to leave for Milan to see the match, just for passion.....He wasn't a violent...

I'm really sad for what happened....why do we have to answer to violence with other violence? in the name of what?of that guy?it's ridicolous

 

It's not football anymore since ages.....It's a deeper trouble of our italian society which is collapsing from the inside.....Who can help us? The politicians? i think no.....they're all happy to seat on their chairs of power to eat and earn everything they can.....I'm so curious to see what they will decide today and in these days about this.....BECAUSE HERE IF DOESN'T DIE A PERSON NOBODY TAKES A DECISION

Officer 'rues' killing Lazio fan

 

Football violence spread to cities throughout Italy after the shooting

 

The Italian policeman who fired the shot that killed a football fan on Sunday has said his gun went off as he ran to stop rival supporters fighting.

The unnamed policeman, who is under investigation for manslaughter, told a newspaper he had not aimed at anyone.

 

The death sparked one of Italy's worst days of football-related violence.

 

Italy's sports minister said officials should consider suspending all play for several weeks, as authorities met to decide their response.

 

"I have asked the football authorities if there is the possibility of a strong gesture, in particular the suspension of the championships for the next few weeks," Giovanna Melandri said.

 

Last season Italy's football programme was badly disrupted after a policeman was killed in a riot in Sicily.

'May you be cursed forever'

 

Sunday's violence erupted after the shooting of Gabriele Sandri, 26, at a motorway service station near the Tuscan city of Arezzo.

 

Around 40 police were injured in the nationwide disorder.

 

The Lazio fan, from Rome, was hit by a bullet in the neck as he sat in a car while police tried to stop fighting between followers of his team and Juventus supporters.

 

Prosecutors have opened an inquiry into manslaughter, though Arezzo police chief Vincenzo Giacobbe said more serious charges could still be laid.

 

Floral tributes and football scarves were laid outside the shop owned by the family of the dead disc jockey in the Italian capital on Monday.

 

A note posted on the window of the premises read: "Yesterday a disgusting b*****d killed my son. May you be cursed forever."

 

But the policeman who fired the shot told the newspaper Corriere della Sera it was a tragic mistake.

 

The officer, who has been in the force for 12 years, said he fired his pistol more than 200m (660ft) away from Mr Sandri.

 

The fan was sitting in a car on his way to see Lazio play Inter Milan.

 

"I was not aiming anywhere, I was not pointing at anyone," the policeman was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

 

"The first shot I fired in the air and the second went off as I was running. What a fool. Now I know what happened, I am devastated.

 

"Now I have destroyed two families, that of this boy and mine," he added.

 

An autopsy was being carried out on Mr Sandri's body on Monday.

 

Italian PM Romano Prodi has called for a full investigation into the shooting, and described the resulting disorder as "very worrying".

 

The president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said he was preparing to announce major changes.

 

"It is a day in which there will be major institutional steps taken," Giancarlo Abete told RAI radio on Monday.

 

The worst of the disorder was in Rome - home of Lazio - where hundreds of armed fans blocked off one end of a bridge over the River Tiber and torched vehicles.

 

Sunday's late match between AS Roma and Cagliari was postponed but supporters wielding rocks and clubs turned up anyway outside the Stadio Olimpico.

 

The mob also attacked a police barracks and the city headquarters of the Italian Olympic Committee, the body which oversees all sport in Italy.

 

Across Italy seven of the Serie A games started 10 minutes late. Players wore black armbands but atmospheres remained tense.

 

In other developments:

 

Fans in Milan hurled rocks at a police station and beat up two journalists

 

In Bergamo, a match between Atalanta and AC Milan was abandoned 10 minutes after kick-off during an attempted pitch invasion

 

Supporters in Siena shouted "murderers" at police

 

There was also violence at lower league games in southern Italy.

The disorder comes after the Italian government introduced a law in April designed to stamp out football hooliganism following the death of a policeman in rioting at a match in Sicily in February.

 

Italy's league programme was suspended, and some matches were then played behind closed doors.

 

ITALY'S ANTI-HOOLIGANISM LAW

Matches behind closed doors if stadiums do not meet safety regulations

No bulk ticket sales

Preventative bans can be issued to suspected hooligans

Quick trials and harsh sentences for firework and weapon offences inside stadiums

More severe punishments imposed for resisting arrest

Warrants issued from photo or video evidence in 48 hours

Increased search powers

Self-regulation committee set up for sports media

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7090170.stm

In pictures: Italian fans on rampage

 

There has been rioting in Rome and violence in several other Italian cities after a policeman shot dead a football fan while trying to stop fighting between rival supporters.

 

Gabriele Sandri was shot by police after a skirmish broke out between fans of Rome's Lazio and Turin team Juventus at a motorway stop in Tuscany.

 

In Bergamo, a match between Atalanta and AC Milan was stopped as fans and police clashed.

 

The game was abandoned 10 minutes after kick-off, when fans tried to smash down a barrier and force their way onto the pitch.

 

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has called for a full investigation into the shooting and said the violence was "very worrying".

 

Mr Sandri was shot in a car at a motorway stop when police intervened to break up a brawl. Police said a warning shot may have caught him.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7089836.stm

Ian...you showed all what happened yesterday in some photos....really a good job...

 

what's your opinion on what happened yesterday?

I never get why they're always fighting when it comes to football.

 

Come on, it's not a big deal to lose!

That's kinda stupid to fight because the other team scored and they'll win...

 

I guess this is the true side of human nature. Violence. Pure Violence.

 

.

To avoid making a new thread on this:

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2007/11/12/tragedy-of-local-footballer-72703-20096924/

 

 

 

That happened yesterday. That guy plays for the seniors team where I coach. I coach the 17 year olds. We were outside the gates meeting before our away game just 2 hours after that happened on our home pitch.

 

Sad :(

Ian...you showed all what happened yesterday in some photos....really a good job...

 

what's your opinion on what happened yesterday?

My opinion is the same as is was when I reported on Coldplaying about the violence when Man Utd went to Rome. It shows how fragile hooliganism is in Italy. There was violence before the shooting and violence after, even at ground that have no association with Lazio, Inter, Juventus or Roma. I don't think the police in Italy do themselves any favours, and the relationship between themselves and the fans in Italy seems so cracked. In the UK i tend to think the fans and the police/stewards have respect for each other, which is why violence inside and outside grounds in this country is now rare. When there are scuffles at matches (for example Birmingham v Aston Villa), the police are not armed.

 

In England, a few officers armed only with batons manage to maintain order over thousands.

My opinion is the same as is was when I reported on Coldplaying about the violence when Man Utd went to Rome. It shows how fragile hooliganism is in Italy. There was violence before the shooting and violence after, even at ground that have no association with Lazio, Inter, Juventus or Roma. I don't think the police in Italy do themselves any favours, and the relationship between themselves and the fans in Italy seems so cracked. In the UK i tend to think the fans and the police/stewards have respect for each other, which is why violence inside and outside grounds in this country is now rare. When there are scuffles at matches (for example Birmingham v Aston Villa), the police are not armed.

 

In England, a few officers armed only with batons manage to maintain order over thousands.

 

Yes - because the right controls are now in place to prevent that kind of thing from happening.

It's about time the Italian authorities got their act together. They seem to be still living in the dark ages.;)

Italian football to be suspended

The Italian Football Federation has suspended next weekend's Serie B and C matches after the latest fan violence.

 

On Sunday, games were halted across the country and police attacked after a Lazio fan was shot by a policeman.

 

Italy's Euro 2008 qualifier away to Scotland on Saturday means there are no top-flight Serie A games next weekend.

 

Sports minister Giovanna Melandri had earlier asked for "a strong gesture, in particular suspending the championships for a few weeks".

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7091306.stm

 

And the sad thing is that Man U have still got to go to Roma in a few weeks time, although it will be a pointless game for the debtors as they are already though to round 2.

Italian football to be suspended

The Italian Football Federation has suspended next weekend's Serie B and C matches after the latest fan violence.

 

On Sunday, games were halted across the country and police attacked after a Lazio fan was shot by a policeman.

 

Italy's Euro 2008 qualifier away to Scotland on Saturday means there are no top-flight Serie A games next weekend.

 

Sports minister Giovanna Melandri had earlier asked for "a strong gesture, in particular suspending the championships for a few weeks".

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7091306.stm

 

And the sad thing is that Man U have still got to go to Roma in a few weeks time, although it will be a pointless game for the debtors as they are already though to round 2.

 

English football was justifiably punished by UEFA for what happened in the Eighties, and Italian football should now be treated exactly the same way.

Quite why it has taken this long is anyone's guess.;)

Kick them out of Europe I say for a period of no less than 4 years.

Kick them out of Europe I say for a period of no less than 4 years.

 

Quite right. You can't have one rule for one country and another for the others.;)

If it's the same rule as was dished out to English clubs then its a ban for at least 5 years, and then a further 3 years for those clubs involved in the violence.

if it's to solve our football...i agree....even if i think english violence was worse in the eighties than ours....that's what i know

if it's to solve our football...i agree....even if i think english violence was worse in the eighties than ours....that's what i know

 

That was then, but this is now....................... ;)

Hardcore English violence died at Hillsborough in '89 (RIP the 96)

The Atalanta's president proposed some things:

1) Avoid any form of collaboration with hooligans and organized supporters;

2) for that he and his players signed a petition in which was written they won't have any relationship with hooligans chiefs forefer don't recognizing them

3)he asked teams to play without their colours.....white for home and blue for visitors...The FA is thinking about it.........

WILL THIS SOLVE THE TROUBLES?....i think it could be just the beginning but i'm afraid nobody will be brave to follow Atalanta's proposals

The Sports Events Observatory.....which is in the Italian Interiors Ministry wrote a list on teams's supporters which are not allowed to follow their team in the outside matches

 

Serie A:Atalanta, Catania, Ac Milan, As Roma, Sampdoria and Torino

 

Serie B:Bari (:angry:) and Cesena

 

Serie C: Potenza, Reggiana, Taranto,Ternana and Verona

 

Serie D: Gragnano and Turris

 

source:ansa.it

 

Let's start to put out the bad ones....it's good....but in this list they missed many other supporters...starting from LAZIO ones...

Glasgow is in lock-down mode for the weekend, ready for the riots

Glasgow is in lock-down mode for the weekend, ready for the riots

 

riots made by italians in Glasgow?....i don't think so.....

No-body better play I Predict a Riot

There are bigger issues here that need looking at..

The problems they have in Italy are bigger than football, I heard something mentioned on BBC World service the other day, that they are having issues with facist far righties and lefties...

 

 

On the football part, Italy should be banned from all competions including the European Champions leauge on a club level and the Natinoal team should be banned as well. Till they sort these problems out.

 

The EU as a whole needs to take a closer look