Italian FA suspends domestic football

Serie A could be suspended as Italian football comes to terms with its latest crisis. No top-flight games were scheduled for the coming weekend because of the latest round of qualifying matches for Euro 2008, but all Serie B and C matches have been postponed after Sunday's accidental shooting of a Lazio fan by a police officer and the violence which followed.

And Giancarlo Abete, president of the country's football federation (FIGC), has not ruled out the possibility of the postponements continuing after the international break.

"We don't intend to restart all tournaments from Sunday 25," he said. "We will have to study, with the Serie A clubs, certain initiatives to be put in place by the 25th - a reflection of the values of football, like a categorical no to any form of violence."

The statement was released this evening after a series of meetings between the FIGC and 'L'Osservatorio Nazionale sulle Manifestazione Sportive (the national surveillance unit of sporting events).

The unit, an independent body formed to clamp down on football violence, was formed in the wake of the death of policeman Filippo Raciti after violence broke out at the Sicilian derby between Catania and Palermo nine months ago.

That, though, as well strict new security measures at soccer stadia, failed to stop the latest scenes of violence in the game.

Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old disc jockey, was shot dead by police as they attempted to quell trouble between fans of the Biancoceleste and Juventus at a motorway service station near Arezzo.

News of the shooting prompted violence on the terraces at the game between Atalanta and AC Milan in Bergamo while, later in the day, fans in Rome armed with batons and stones attacked one of the police units in the vicinity of the Stadio Olimpico before raiding the CONI headquarters.

That lead to extensive meetings on Monday, after which Abete confirmed: "The decision taken by the federation with the consensus of the other organisations present, is for the Serie B and C games scheduled for Sunday to be postponed."

The policeman involved in Sandri's shooting is being investigated for manslaughter. He spoke of his distress today.

"I didn't look at anything, I didn't point my gun at anyone. I was at least 200 metres away, how could I have done that?" the unnamed officer told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. "The first shot I fired was in the air and the second was fired when I was running, it was an accident. I know now, this is the end for me.

"I have destroyed two families, that of the man and mine."

The surveillance unit also confirmed new measures to combat football hooliganism.

"Fans travelling in groups to away games will only be authorised to do so if there is proof they are official," read a statement from the body.

"From March 1st, all stadia with a capacity of more than 7,500 spectators must have stewards or the punishment will be for the game to be played behind closed doors.

"Hence, the city's head of police can decide whether a game will not start or should be abandoned any time incidents happen, even outside the stadia. Violent fan groups will not be allowed to travel to away games and certain restrictions will be fixed at a later stage."

The independent body is considering introducing club identification cards for fans.

Meanwhile, Abete said Italy's national sides would wear black armbands in memory of Sandri. Italy will face Scotland in Glasgow in a crucial Euro 2008 qualifying match on Saturday.

After expressing his sympathy to Sandri's family, Italy coach Roberto Donadoni revealed his disgust at the way hooligans used the situation to wreak havoc in Bergamo and Rome.

"What has happened in Bergamo and in Rome is pure madness," said Donadoni. "It's one of those situations where you feel sick and you wish you could throw it all out. I believe that we are hostages of this violence, but you cannot be a slave in this manner."

AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf insisted the violence was borne out of frustration within Italian society as a whole and should not be viewed as solely a football problem.

The Dutchman told Sky Sports News: "The government is using football for the problems in Italian society. They should think about shutting down the government for a couple of weeks."

Seedorf feels not enough was done following the killing of policeman Filippo Raciti after violence broke out at the Sicilian derby match between Catania and Palermo nine months ago.

"The situation following the Catania riots has not changed," he added. "They (the government) cannot blame football every time. The people are not happy. They are coming to the stadiums to express their feelings and their feelings are not positive.

"They don't come to express their disappointment at the team. The whole country is lacking leadership."