Spanish police said on Tuesday that two men are being held "as suspects" over the death of a La Liga side Deportivo La Coruña supporter before a match last month, according to Tim Hanlon of REUTERS. Francisco Javier Romero, 43, died in apparent organized fighting between Atlético Madrid and Deportivo "ultra fans" in Madrid on Nov. 30. Spanish police tweeted, "32 ultras have been detained in Madrid, Avila and Toledo over the violent incidents in Manzanares, and among them are the two suspected culprits of the murder." Since the death Spanish authorities and football's ruling bodies in the country "have been looking at ways to eradicate fan violence" (REUTERS, 12/16). AS reported the "operation has been coded 'Neptuno' by the Police and is being carried
out with the Madrid Intelligence Department and the Anti-Disturbance
division of the police." Additional arrests have been made in Cuenca and Talavera (AS, 12/16).
MEASURES DELAYED: In Madrid, Ladislao J. Moñino reported "another absence" by Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) President Ángel María Villar has "prevented a battery of measures aimed at eradicating ultras from stadiums from taking effect." The Spanish Football League (LFP) and the RFEF had agreed before Spain's Superior Sports Council (CSD) to approve on Monday of "changes to statutes to put into practice new regulations." The RFEF's delegate committee, "which was scheduled to meet, did not." Sources said that Villar's presence at the Club World Cup in Morocco made such a meeting impossible. It is the "third absence by Villar, who has not been present at any of the three meetings" that have taken place since Nov. 30 (EL PAIS, 12/15).
