Atalanta accept punishment for crowd trouble

Atalanta will not appeal against the decision to close the curva nord at their Atleti Azzurri D’Italia stadium until the end of March.

The punishment was handed out on Monday by the Italian Football League (Lega Calcio) following crowd trouble at Atalanta’s home game with AC Milan on November 11.

The match was abandoned after seven minutes when fans tried to invade the pitch.

The incident happened just hours after it was announced Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri had been shot and killed by police after a disturbance at a motorway service station near Arezzo.

“We will not appeal,” said club president Ivan Ruggeri. “We accept the decision by the sporting judge.”

Ruggeri said after the violence he hoped he could close the curva nord to force the ultras out but he admitted to being surprised by the severity of the sanction handed out by the Lega Calcio.

“I hope that those who are responsible (for the violence) are aware of the damage they have caused,” added Ruggeri.

“Perhaps I didn’t expect such a harsh ban but then again, what happened was seen all over the world.”