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Nov. 7 - Nov.14, 2004 |
Italian soccer marred by death of fan
Violent clashes followed incident in city of Avellino after Naples follower dies in accident
By Mehrdad Masoudi
Originally Published: 2003-09-28
A fan of Italian club Napoli died on Monday after falling from a stand at a Serie B match last weekend, police in the southern city of Avellino said.
Sergio Ercolano fell from the upper tier of the stadium in Avellino before the Serie B match against Napoli last Saturday and had been in a coma.
Reports said he had been part of a group of Napoli fans who charged police and entered the stadium without tickets by climbing over an external wall. Ercolano fell through a plastic roofing that was below the wall and above the stand.
Violent clashes followed the accident with police rounded upon by fans wielding sticks - a total of 34 civilians and military policemen were injured. After the violence the match was called off.
Following the ugly scenes in Avellino and just hours after the announcement of the death of Ercolano, Italy's Interior Minister warned soccer chiefs, he would not flinch at scrapping matches where fan safety could not be guaranteed.
"If circumstances force me, I won't hesitate to stop matches which carry big risks to public safety," Giuseppe Pisanu said in a statement after summoning the sport's bosses to Rome for emergency talks.
In addition to the sad death of Ercolano, more than 30 policemen were recovering from injuries after hundreds of Napoli fans, many wearing masks and armed with knives and sticks, invaded the pitch at Avellino.
Conscious of the Italian public's shock and blaring headlines like "Hell at the stadium!", Pisani on Monday called in police chiefs and the heads of the Italian Soccer League and the Soccer Federation.
"The safety of law enforcement officers and peaceful spectators is much more important than the entire soccer championship," Pisanu said.
"I expect the disciplinary committees of the sport's authorities to take decisions which show their absolute severity," he added.
The Avellino versus Napoli match was called off last Saturday night after the violence. Reports said Napoli fans were angered by the failure of the police to come quickly to the aid of Ercolano after his fall.
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