15/03/2006

English football fans stabbed in Italy

Three Middlesbrough fans have been stabbed in Rome in a violent clash ahead of the football club's UEFA cup match against Roma.

The violence broke out in the Campo di Fiori area when two bars, where around 200 English fans were drinking, were targeted by a group of Italian fans.

Cleveland Police said that a 39-year-old Middlesbrough supporter had to have an operation for stab wounds to his back and chest, while two other fans - aged 18 and 31 - were also treated for stab wounds in hospital.

Cleveland Police said that the trouble was started by what appeared to be an "organised gang" of Roma fans, who were wearing scarves across their face. They are understood to have thrown flares into one of the pubs.

The violence has been blamed on a group of extremist Roma supporters.

Italian police, armed with batons, were called to the scene in order to break up the violence. A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Rome said that five Italians had been arrested.

Last year, a Middlesbrough fan died after being stabbed outside a bar in Amsterdam, after travelling to the Dutch capital for a match last November. Brendan O'Connor, 36, from London, had joined friends to travel to Holland to see Boro play AZ Alkmaar.

Middlesbrough will play Roma tonight at the Stadio Olimpico in the second leg of the fourth round UEFA Cup match. Boro lead 1-0 from the first leg match at the Riverside.

(KMcA/GB)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

13 December 2007
Manchester United Fans Stabbed At Champions League Tie
Football violence has marred a Champions League tie between Manchester United and Roma. Five United fans were stabbed during clashes with Roma supporters before Wednesday night’s final group match. Seven people were taken to hospital, one of those being a 16 year old boy who needed treatment for intoxication.
20 June 2006
England fans ready for Sweden match
Up to 70,000 England supporters have flooded into Cologne in Germany, ahead of the team's final World Cup group stage match against Sweden.
17 June 2004
Eleven England fans deported following Monday riot
A Portuguese judge has sentenced a 46-year-old England football fan to two years in prison for his part in a riot in the Algarve. Gary Mann, from Faversham in Kent, will be deported to serve the custodial sentence in an English jail. Ten other English fans arrested will also face deportation. One further England supporter was found not guilty.
15 May 2007
Travel warning for football fans
Football fans heading to this weekend's FA Cup final at the new Wembley Stadium on May 9 are being advised to check for possible delays and to expect the roads to be busy.
21 March 2005
Football fans arrested after World Cup qualifier violence
Twenty-eight people have been arrested in connection with an investigation into violence following a World Cup qualifier game at Old Trafford in Manchester last October. Seven police forces were involved in a series of dawn raids this morning in Staffordshire, Lancashire, the West Midlands, Humberside, Cheshire, Hampshire and Nottinghamshire.