by Anton Johan
Italy's Serie A, like most professional football leagues, does
get very heated which can erupt in clashes both on and off the pitch, but what
is surprising is the extent to which some Serie A football fans are
prepared to go to show their love and support for their teams.
Case in point. On Sunday following the anticipated derby between Rome clubs
Lazio and AS Roma, fans of both teams were involved in a series of violent
scuffles that resulted in seven fans being injured, some even sustaining knife
wounds. One is in hospital with a throat injury.
According to Rome-based daily newspaper La Repubblica, three of the seven
victims were stabbed, but are thought to be stable while a fourth is in serious
condition with the throat wound. Rome police have reportedly arrested four
people in connection with the football violence.
The Lazio and AS Roma derby has always traditionally been a volatile affair, and
even a large police presence did not deter fans from throwing fire crackers at
each before the match. Police in riot gear had to form a barrier to prevent fans
from coming into contact with each other.
Throughout the game fans from both teams jeered and spat at each other. And
after the match the situation only worsened, as some fans started hurling stones
and bottles at each other. This eventually escalated into fighting and the
stabbings. However, the game itself was exciting.
Even though AS Roma's Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi were taken off at
half-time, striker Mirko Vucinic kept the pressure on Lazio and scored not one,
but both of his team's goals that clinched not only the game, but the top spot
in the Serie A standings with 71 points.
That means AS Roma once again leads the way in this season's Serie A ahead of
Inter Milan who has 70 points, with Milan in third place with 64 points. Lazio
is in sixteenth place with just 37 points.
