Italian sports minister calls for drastic action

Italian sports minister Giovanna Melandri has called for club football to be halted for several weeks in order to crack down on violence in the sport.

Melandri spoke after a meeting with Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Gianni Petrucci and Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giancarlo Abete in Rome on Monday.

She said: “A decision has to be taken to make a significant gesture.

“I expect the football world to make the right decision, such as halting play for several weeks.”

The meeting came in the wake of the violence which erupted on Sunday.

Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old disc jockey, was accidentally shot by police as they attempted to quell trouble between fans of the Biancoceleste and Juventus at a motorway service station near Arezzo.

News of the shooting prompted trouble on the terraces at the game between Atalanta and AC Milan in Bergamo while, later in the day, fans in Rome armed with batons and stones attacked one of the police units in the vicinity of the Stadio Olimpico before raiding the headquarters of CONI.

Melandri’s proposal to suspend football in Italy has been met with stiff opposition, however.

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni is just one who believes that does not go far enough.

He said: “To stop the tournament? Everyone feels the duty to become judges on what should or should not be done. But are they sure that that would be sufficient?

“What has happened drains enthusiasm and strength and we must react. If we think that all it takes is to stop playing for a long period then we are the ones deceived.

“We must all say enough is enough.”

Juventus’ World cup-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon also expressed doubts over the plan after insisting the violence is not solely related to football.

He said: “If they asked us not to play in the next round of league games, I would do it but I wouldn’t fully understand the reasons behind it.

“What happened in Arezzo is out not a football problem. It is a social problem that should not fall on the world of football."

Nine months have passed since policeman Filippo Raciti was killed after violence broke out at the Sicilian derby between Catania and Palermo.

That incident led to strict new security measures at soccer stadiums and the creation of an independent body, L’Osservatorio nazionale sulle manifestazione sportive (the national surveillance unit of sporting events).

On Monday, the body recommended that fans not be allowed to travel to support their teams at away games for the remainder of the season and also called for the stand in which the Atalanta ultras usually sit be closed.