Lazio fan shot dead in Italy

[Guest JV]

By an Italian police man. Fan was on his way to the Inter game and stopped at a service station apprently.

 

Inter vs Lazio game has been called off.

[Tommy Cockles]

News of it sparked trouble elsewhere too, Atalanta game called off due to riots

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7089485.stm

 

Its bad out there at the mo

[Guest JV]

kicked off proper outside the atalanta stadium

[Bootle Buck]

According to an Italian Sports reporter on Talksport 200 Roma and Lazio fans are storming a police barracks in Rome.

[floyd]

Wasn't it a few months ago, that an Italian copper got killed also?

Wonder how Gallard will pin this one on us. Be nice to see if any action is taken.

Edited November 11, 2007 by floyd

[Stevie H]

f*** me that's shocking. RIP.

[growler]

remember, its english footballs fault. the italians never do anything wrong

[John am Rhein]

According to an Italian Sports reporter on Talksport 200 Roma and Lazio fans are storming a police barracks in Rome.

 

 

Rent-a-mob on stand by

[Bologna]

The authorities haven't got a clue over here.

The incident happened at a motorway service station and the cop that fired 2 shots was in the service area on the other side of the carriageway from where a scuffle was taking place involoving 3 car-oads of people. The lad that died was sitting in the car when hit by a bullet. This is murder.

The police are as much a part of the problem. All fans in Italy f***ing hate them and I'm not surprised. We all saw in the Roma-Manc game how they like to beat people indiscrimately but don't like it when the same thing happens to them.

It was so obvious that all football should have been halted yesterday. It was so obvious it was going to be chaos everywhere. As many have suspected all along, yesterday showed that the authorities only really care when one of their own dies (policeman in Catania in February) but couldn't give a s*** when fans die.

I'd also add that this hatred of the police and authority is a general malaise in Italy. This is because the police act like their position gives them privileges over the rest of society rather than as people there to serve society.

[floyd]

Instead of that fvckin gimp Platini, trying to shoe horn these clubs into the Champions League, how about him taking on the problem of racism and violence, that is a problem in some countries.

That would be a legacy to leave, instead of getting the Belarus champions a place in the group stages.

Will he have the balls, doubt it.

Edited November 12, 2007 by floyd

[Guest Kaizer]

FIGC chief: It's not football violence

Sunday 11 November, 2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Federation President Giancarlo Abete insists the death of a Lazio supporter had nothing to do with football-related violence.

 

Inter-Lazio was called off after 26-year-old Biancocelesti fan Gabriele Sandri was killed by a wayward police bullet in a motorway service station near Arezzo.

 

“It is a decision the football world took along with the Lega Calcio and the Presidents of the two clubs involved in an event that had lost all meaning,” said Abete.

 

“The dynamics of the incident are still being ascertained and none of us know exactly what happened. The game could not go ahead, everyone agreed on that, but we tried to keep the other matches going to prevent further problems.”

 

The other Serie A matches in Week 12 will go ahead as planned with a 10-15 minute delay, but tension is rising in stadiums all over the country.

 

“All teams will wear a black armband as a sign of mourning. This incident was very different to other football violence, as it seemed to be a fight between a small number of people and a shot went off accidentally – from what I have been told, from quite far away – and unfortunately proved fatal.

 

“It is well known there are problems between a certain section of the fans and the police, but this is not the point. Here we had a fight between two groups of fans who were not going to play each other.”

 

Nonetheless, the tension between police and Ultras is escalating and there have already been riots outside the Stadio Azzurri d’Italia with both Milan and Atalanta fans attacking the authorities.

 

“This is the saddest thing. A tragic and entirely accidental event should not create further violence against the police authorities. It was an accident that unfortunately caused the loss of a life,” added Abete.

 

“Everyone must have the intellectual honesty to recognise this has little to do with the football world and was a tragic accident that could have happened in any other situation.”

 

In previous years when a fan or police officer was killed, the Serie A round was immediately called off, but the FIGC President explained why this was not repeated this time.

 

“We also considered calling off all the games, but believe we made the right decision. It is sad to say it, but we cannot put this incident in with the events of Catania, where there was effectively pre-planned warfare between Ultras and the police.

 

“Here was a fight that broke out in a motorway service station – we’re not even sure the fight had anything to do with sporting affiliation – and a tragic accident where a human life was lost.”

 

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/nov11j.html

 

 

Police: It was an accident

Sunday 11 November, 2007

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A police statement has explained how Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri was shot by accident and suggests the brawl may not have been football-related.

 

The 28-year-old was killed this morning in a motorway service station car park when a stray bullet struck him on the neck as he was sitting in the back seat of a car.

 

There has been a lot of confusion over how the incident happened and the police statement still leaves some gaps in the story.

 

“At 09.10am two traffic police cars from the Battifolle district were alerted by the sound of shouting and noises coming from the north car park of the motorway service station,” explained the statement from the authorities in Arezzo.

 

“Realising there was a violent brawl between the occupants of at least three vehicles, the agents intervened by activating their siren and closing in on the scene.

 

“One of the agents, in a bid to induce the brawlers to desist, fired two shots. These were fired so that the fight that had broken out between a group of people – who had not been identified as football fans – did not degenerate into something more serious.

 

“Soon afterwards, one of the cars with five people on board continued its journey to the Arezzo toll booth where they asked for help from the emergency services. Medics who arrived at the scene tried to revive the man, but there was nothing they could do.”

 

The car park has been cordoned off and ballistics experts have been working at the scene all day to discover exactly how the bullet reached Sandri.

 

His lawyer and brother have launched serious accusations against the officer who fired the gun, suggesting it was “murder, pure and simple.”

 

The authorities are interviewing the officer this evening in Arezzo and it’s reported he is approximately 30 years old with several years of active service on his CV.

 

There are suggestions the two officers walked out of their car towards the scene of the brawl and fired two shots. The first was intended as a warning into the air, but the second may have gone off accidentally as he lowered the gun – and proved fatal, striking Sandri in the back of the neck.

 

Tension is sky high in Rome and there are riots breaking out around the city as both Lazio and Roma Ultras try to exact some kind of revenge on the police, who they accuse of ‘murder.’

 

Cars and buses have been set alight and tear gas had to be used outside the Stadio Olimpico, while a group also tried to invade the CONI headquarters – the Italian Olympic Committee.

 

It is rumoured that the police could opt to ban all travelling fans for the foreseeable future from football games to prevent the possibility of violence.

 

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/nov11r.html

 

 

Ultras unite in protest marches

Sunday 11 November, 2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Groups of Ultras all over Italy are uniting for protest marches this evening and Roma-Cagliari may be called off.

 

The supporters are furious after the Lega Calcio decided to go ahead with most of today’s Serie A games despite the tragic death of Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri, who was struck by a stray bullet from a police officer’s gun.

 

Only Inter-Lazio was postponed, but the aggressive reaction of the fans at the Stadio Azzurri d’Italia forced the referee to abandon Atalanta-Milan after just eight minutes of play.

 

The Orobici Ultras threw objects and attempted to smash the Plexiglas divider to stop the game from continuing.

 

Now there are reports of two giant protest marches in Milan and Rome in mourning for 26-year-old Sandri – a famous DJ in the Rome area – and in a show of solidarity against what they claim is heavy-handed policing.

 

The Lazio Ultras have asked to meet with their Roma counterparts to discuss a course of action so that tonight’s planned Week 12 match against Cagliari can be called off. Kick-off is expected at 19.30 UK time at the Stadio Olimpico.

 

In Milan there is a meeting between Ultras representing Inter, Milan, Atalanta, Brescia and more from the north of Italy.

 

The incredible tension between organised fan groups and police escalated further when the lawyer for slain supporter Sandri accused the authorities of manslaughter, if not worse.

 

“This was a crime perpetrated by the police. Listen to the fans who were witnesses, they saw it,” slammed lawyer Luigi Conti. “It was target practice.”

 

The agent who fired the gun is interviewed this evening to find out exactly what happened, as the chain of events is still unclear.

 

It is known that a small group of Juventus and Lazio supporters – who were travelling to their respective games in Parma and Milan separately rather than as part of an organised Ultras tribe – had a fight in a motorway service station in Badia al Pino, Arezzo.

 

A traffic police car was driving nearby and spotted the melee, then a shot was fired and accidentally struck Sandri, who was sitting in the back of a Renault Megane driven by the Lazio fans.

 

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/nov11m.html

[growler]

the problem is, the italian league is strong. if this was a smaller league, there would be repurcussions, but UEFA and FIFA don't care, so why should the clubs and the italian FA?

[Guest Kaizer]

the problem is, the italian league is strong. if this was a smaller league, there would be repurcussions, but UEFA and FIFA don't care, so why should the clubs and the italian FA?

 

UEFA and FIFA dont care about what?

 

That the Italian police have shot and killed a Lazio fan sitting a car?

[The walters step over]

the problem is, the italian league is strong. if this was a smaller league, there would be repurcussions, but UEFA and FIFA don't care, so why should the clubs and the italian FA?

 

If it had happened over here what do you think the result would be? Personally, I think UEFA would've just done an across the board blanket ban for our clubs in Europe - and justifiably IMO, and I would say at the moment our league is financially much stronger vthan the Italians.

 

We rightly got battered for Athens, and Gaillard seems to be itching to pull the trigger on us but surely now the time's right to just ban Italian clubs from this years CL.

[John am Rhein]

If it had happened over here what do you think the result would be? Personally, I think UEFA would've just done an across the board blanket ban for our clubs in Europe - and justifiably IMO, and I would say at the moment our league is financially much stronger vthan the Italians.

 

I don't think UEFA would have done anything of the sort.

 

As it's an internal Italian matter, UEFA will probably hardly get involved at all.

[Bologna]

If it had happened over here what do you think the result would be? Personally, I think UEFA would've just done an across the board blanket ban for our clubs in Europe - and justifiably IMO, and I would say at the moment our league is financially much stronger vthan the Italians.

 

We rightly got battered for Athens, and Gaillard seems to be itching to pull the trigger on us but surely now the time's right to just ban Italian clubs from this years CL.

Why? The incident is surely an internal Italian matter. What jurisdiction do UEFA have if it's not one of their competitions?

[Stevie H]

I don't think UEFA would have done anything of the sort.

 

As it's an internal Italian matter, UEFA will probably hardly get involved at all.

indeed. no idea why people are bringing UEFA or platini into it.

Edited November 12, 2007 by Steve H

[Frosty Jack]

The authorities haven't got a clue over here.

I'd also add that this hatred of the police and authority is a general malaise in Italy. This is because the police act like their position gives them privileges over the rest of society rather than as people there to serve society.

 

How long have you been over here btw? I heard it got pretty bad in Bergamo last night, It was noisy on corso buenos aires but I hadn't watched the news so had no idea what had gone on til I got home.

 

Really f***ed up but this has nothing to do with UEFA or the champions league and some of the comments on here are infantile.

[matty]

The authorities haven't got a clue over here.

The incident happened at a motorway service station and the cop that fired 2 shots was in the service area on the other side of the carriageway from where a scuffle was taking place involoving 3 car-oads of people. The lad that died was sitting in the car when hit by a bullet. This is murder.

The police are as much a part of the problem. All fans in Italy f***ing hate them and I'm not surprised. We all saw in the Roma-Manc game how they like to beat people indiscrimately but don't like it when the same thing happens to them.

It was so obvious that all football should have been halted yesterday. It was so obvious it was going to be chaos everywhere. As many have suspected all along, yesterday showed that the authorities only really care when one of their own dies (policeman in Catania in February) but couldn't give a s*** when fans die.

I'd also add that this hatred of the police and authority is a general malaise in Italy. This is because the police act like their position gives them privileges over the rest of society rather than as people there to serve society.

 

I think the Italian police have a strange relationship with the rest of their society in large part due to the fact that so many of them are raccomandati. Leads to them being crap at their job, and seen as favouring certain people and groups. People don't respect them because they know they got the job through a family connection. They are also moved around the country so there's no local knowledge and the regional rivalries get played out.

[The Hitman]

Good to see the Roma and Lazio ultras putting football aside for once,some form of organised protest would be great.

Italian coppers are notorious all over Europe for their approach to "policing".

They're nothing more than legitimised thugs.

[Bologna]

How long have you been over here btw? I heard it got pretty bad in Bergamo last night, It was noisy on corso buenos aires but I hadn't watched the news so had no idea what had gone on til I got home.

 

Really f***ed up but this has nothing to do with UEFA or the champions league and some of the comments on here are infantile.

15 years. You must be in Milan given you mention Corso Buenos Aires.

[dorgie]

From the beeb :

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/7091306.stm

 

Italian football to be suspended

 

Minister Melandri has called for tough action to be taken

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".

 

Melandri added: "Today I think a significant gesture needs to be made to express the condolences from the sporting world and the football world and the shared mourning and at the same time a condemnation without hesitation of violence."

 

Sunday's incident occurred when Lazio fans travelling to see their team play at Inter Milan encountered Juventus fans at a motorway service station in Tuscany.

 

Lazio's game with Inter and Roma's match with Cagliari were both postponed in the aftermath of the fatal shooting, and Atalanta's game with Milan was abandoned after just seven minutes.

 

Italy's anti-hooligan body has proposed the banning of large groups of potentially violent away supporters from all grounds.

 

It has also suggested that away fan attendance should be decided on a game-by-game basis, and wants 'supporter passports' introduced as soon as possible.

 

Football has a central place in the life of Italy, so whatever problems exist at a social level find their way to the stadium

 

Uefa spokesman William Gaillard

 

Uefa spokesman William Gaillard told BBC Sport that although there was clearly a serious problem, it was unfair to lay the blame entirely at the door of football.

 

"It reflects social difficulties in Italian cities which have little to do with football, and also the presence of extremists and organised groups do not reflect what the average fan feels about football," he said.

 

"That bullet could have hit anyone in the parking lot, so it's tragic. Football has a central place in the life of Italy, so whatever problems exist at a social level find their way to the stadium."

[Leo No.8]

The police over in Italy have been allowed to carry on like f*cking animals at football grounds without being censured for years, so the Government there is reaping what they sow.

 

UEFA have been very leniant as well despite the same kind of behaviour from the police at European games.

 

If someone had clamped down on the baton happy police 20 years ago, then football fans over there wouldn't have so much built up resentment and anger ready to explode following this incident.

[John am Rhein]

I think the policing issue in Italy actually goes back centuries or even millenia. Football trouble is just a minor aspect of it.

[Guest Kaizer]

Calcio stops for Sandri

Tuesday 13 November, 2007

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Lazio squad and figures from football and politics have paid their respects to slain fan Gabriele Sandri, while there are new developments on the shooting.

 

Biancocelesti supporter Sandri was shot while in the back of a car leaving the scene of a minor scuffle with Juventus fans on Sunday morning.

 

The police officer who fired the two shots said he had intended the first as a warning into the air and the second went off accidentally when he was running towards the scene in a motorway service station near Arezzo.

 

The exact dynamics of what happened are unclear, as Sandri’s lawyer has announced the version of events given by a witness – that the officer had his arms together outstretched and was aiming rather than firing into the air – are backed up by forensics reports.

 

“The autopsy proves the shot was fired at the same height as the back of the car and the holes match up, so it was in a straight line,” commented Michele Bonaco.

 

“It seems as if Gabriele immediately lost consciousness and he died a few minutes later due to the haemorrhaging of his jugular.”

 

The entity of the scuffle that alerted the passing traffic police car is also still unclear. According to reports, Sandri’s four friends in the car with him are under investigation for attempted assault.

 

However, they claim there was no brawl in the car park of the motorway service station. Their car crossed paths with the vehicle carrying Juventus supporters, they exchanged a few verbal insults and then left, the incident lasting in their view no more than 10 seconds.

 

The friends stated that they heard a noise as they drove away, but assumed it had been a rock thrown by another fan, not realising it was a gunshot until they saw Sandri’s blood.

 

The traffic police officer who fired the bullet that killed Sandri has not been suspended from duty, but was placed on “internal” desk work.

 

The funeral is on Wednesday morning in Rome and this evening people from all over Italy are flocking to pay their respects.

 

FIGC President Giancarlo Abete and Vice-President Demetrio Albertini brought a special Azzurri shirt signed by all the Italy players with ‘To Gabriele’ on the back, while Inter patron Massimo Moratti and several members of the Lazio staff attended.

 

The entire Lazio squad – including Lorenzo De Silvestri, a close friend of Sandri who has been released from Under-21 duty on compassionate leave – will be at the funeral.

 

“It was very important to be here and give our salute to Gabriele, a wonderful guy,” said defender Sebastiano Siviglia.

 

“It is a tragedy that leaves us astonished, as nobody could ever have imagined it. We are all very upset. Up until now I have heard a lot of talk and it’s too easy to blame football for what happened. Football had nothing to do with this affair. The problem is in society nowadays where violence is everywhere.”

 

The Government is reacting to the rioting that followed Sandri’s death by preparing even stricter laws to limit the movements of football fans, including banning away supporters for the foreseeable future.

 

“Italy should stop for an hour and reflect on the direction we are all going in. I don’t believe any of the games should have gone ahead on Sunday.”

 

Lazio captain Luciano Zauri also suggested the Ultras wanted the games to stop because Serie A and B were halted for two weeks when Chief Inspector Filippo Raciti was killed in rioting outside the Stadio Massimino in February.

 

“The whole situation isn’t clear yet, but we asked for clarity in the Raciti case and we demand the same here.”

 

Others who came to pay their respects to 28-year-old Sandri included politicians Giorgia Meloni, Valter Veltroni, Minister for Sport Giovanna Melandri, Gianfranco Fini and Paolo Cento.

 

President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano made a personal phone call to Sandri’s brother Cristiano to express “the feelings of great compassion shared by all Italians for the painful loss to your family of Gabriele.

 

"It occurred in tragic and absurd circumstances upon which it is right to shed full light, independent from the terrible violence that followed in Rome. These were events to be considered totally extraneous from young Sandri’s life.”

 

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/nov13q.html

Edited November 13, 2007 by Kaizer