The Italian Cup final was delayed after three Napoli fans "were shot in clashes near Rome's Olympic stadium" before Saturday's match between the southern club and Fiorentina, according to Terry Daley of REUTERS. One of the men "was taken to the Villa San Pietro hospital in a critical condition after being hit in the chest while the two others were shot in the arms and also in hospital." Clashes took place in the Tor di Quinto area close to the stadium, with rival supporters "throwing firecrackers and other objects at each other ahead of the game" which was due to kick off at 5pm local time, but was delayed by 45 minutes. Italy Senate President Piero Grasso, who was "due to present the trophy at the end of the match," declared those responsible were "delinquents, not supporters." Grasso: "A game of soccer cannot be turned into a war between rival gangs" (REUTERS, 5/3). In London, John Hooper reported a fourth man, Daniele De Santis, "was under police guard in hospital accused of attempted murder." Five police, two stewards and a firefighter "were also reported injured in clashes that swirled through the northern part of Rome before the kick-off." Fans of the two sides, some masked or hooded and wielding staves, "fought one another and turned on police struggling to keep them apart." The worst violence "appeared not to stem from the rivalry between the two sides in the final, but from enmity between Napoli and the local side, AS Roma." De Santis, a leader of Roma's Ultras, "was found unconscious near a stall he owns on a main road leading into the city." According to Italian media reports quoting police sources, De Santis "was suspected along with others of having ambushed a party of Napoli fans, using smoke bombs." When they responded by attacking him, he was "said to have pulled out a gun and begun shooting" (GUARDIAN, 5/4). The LONDON TIMES reported the latest violence to hit Italian football "has caused indignation in Italy with several editorials lamenting the lack of real action to tackle the scourge." Italian PM Matteo Renzi "was in the Olympic Stadium" as the events unfolded on Saturday. The incidents, however, "have damaged a league already suffering from the loss of big name stars to more attractive league’s in England, Spain and Germany." Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella said that Italian football "had suffered another knock." Montella: “It’s not the first time I’ve seen this” (LONDON TIMES, 5/4).
FAN KILLED BY TOILET: The AP reported police said that a football fan "was killed when he was struck in the head by a toilet bowl hurled from stadium stands as supporters of rival clubs clashed in northeastern Brazil." A police officer in the city of Recife said that fans "ripped three toilet bowls out of stadium restrooms and threw them from the stands." He said that one "hit and instantly killed a fan he identified as Paulo Ricardo Gomes da Silva" (AP, 5/3).
