Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini called for "cells to be installed" at Serie A stadiums for misbehaving fans and less night games, according to FOOTBALL ITALIA. Salvini held an emergency meeting on Monday in the wake of the Inter Milan-Napoli controversy at San Siro, which saw one supporter killed, "several stabbed and Kalidou Koulibaly subjected to racist abuse." Salvini said, "I'm satisfied with how this meeting went. I want to start with numbers. You can't die from football in 2018, even if the use of knives has little to do with football. Fortunately, the numbers of the dead, wounded and those arrested are falling. .. Even the numbers of banned fans are falling. Now it's 6,500, while every week 12 million people travel to games and 6,000 of them are thugs" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 1/7).
MURDER INVESTIGATION: FOOTBALL ITALIA reported 23 people are under investigation for the death of Daniele Belardinelli during clashes between Inter Milan and Napoli fans. Belardinelli was a Varese supporter, but traveled to Milan "to take part in the ambush by Inter ultras of a visiting Napoli fan bus" on Dec. 26. Also involved were a "large group" of around 30 traveling Ligue 1 side Nice hooligans. Belardinelli was "run over and killed by at least one vehicle, possibly two" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 1/8).
