The Italian government on Monday
said it was mulling lifetime bans for soccer hooligans amid
mounting outrage over the latest instance of alleged 'ultra
rule' and the worst case of violence in years.
Justice Minister Andrea Orlando said his experts would help
Interior Minister Angelino Alfano frame possible life bans after
a Napoli fan was shot in the spine, apparently in self-defence,
and a capo ultra allegedly halted the Italian Cup Final between
Napoli and Fiorentina for nearly an hour Saturday before
reportedly receiving assurances no one had died.
Police issued official figures showing there were 388 ultra
groups around Italy, 60 of whom were "politicised".
"These groups have reached a critical mass that could turn
them all into ticking time-bombs," the Italian police's central
office said in a statement.
A formal negotiation on Saturday night has been denied by
club and match officials, Rome authorities and the ultra chief
himself, but the case was still seen as the umpteenth example of
clubs giving in to the leaders of the hardcore fans who have
controversial ties to officials, mostly rightist political
extremists, and sometimes the criminal underground.
Orlando said his ministry would help the interior ministry
lengthen DASPO bans from soccer matches and probe suspected
links between ultras and organised crime.
Life bans were "among the options" on the table, he said.
"There is not just the issue of vigilance at grounds but
also the work that the relevant judiciary has done in this area,
which also involves the links between certain fan groups and
fringes of organised crime," Orlando said.
The Napoli capo-ultra who stopped the Napoli-Fiorentina
game for 40 minutes was rumoured to have links to the southern
city's Camorra mafia.
On life DASPOs, Orlando said his ministry would "examine
the proposals that come from the interior ministry".
AS well as outrage, the incident spurred some back-biting
between sports bodies with the head of the Italian olympic
committee (CONI), Giovanni Malagò, accusing the Italian soccer
federation (FIGC), of "doing little to stop the ultra problem"
and FIGC chief Giancarlo Abete shooting back: "CONI was on the
ultra task force with us and should share any blame that's going
around".
SHOT FAN 'STABLE'.
The Napoli fan who risks being paralysed from the waist down
- among three Napoli fans hit by gunfire - was stable Monday
after another "comfortable" night in hospital, sources at Rome's
Gemelli Hospital said.
Ciro Esposito, a 29-year-old carwash attendant, was among
Napoli fans who allegedly ambushed a Roma supporter with
rightist sympathies, Daniele De Santis aka Gastone, 48,
according to eye-witness accounts.
Three eye witnesses told police the Napoli fans had been
the initial offenders.
A group of hooded fans wielding iron bars attacked the Roma
fan who threw firecrackers at them first, and when they kept
assaulting him took out a gun, the witnesses said.
The Roma supporter denied shooting at the Napoli supporters
but the three witnesses contradicted this, saying he had fired
"several shots".
The match, which Napoli won 3-1, was delayed for almost an
hour before the head of Napoli's ultras, Gennaro De Tommaso aka
'Genny a carogna' (Genny The Scumbag), 50, gave the OK for it to
start after Napoli captain Marek Hamsik allegedly reassured him
no fan had been killed.
The umpteenth instance of soccer being held to ransom caused
widespread outrage and Interior Minister Alfano said figures
such as reportedly Mob-linked Genny or the Roma fan who shot
Esposito, De Santis, should be banned for life.
Genny, who is back leading the hardcore Biancoazzurri
supporters after serving two DASPO bans, "is the epitome of the
blackmailing thug who needs to be permanently DASPO'd," Alfano
said.
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