Shame may only be start of Inter's sorrows

SOCCER: Endless shame was the headline in yesterday's Gazzetta dello Sport in response to the abandonment of the Champions League quarter-final between Internazionale and AC Milan. Shame was undoubtedly the most frequently used word in the Italian media after the events of Tuesday's match, during which fans in the Inter end threw flares and missiles on to the San Siro pitch.

It marked the first time since 1910 that a Milan derby has been ended prematurely, although 95 years ago thick fog was the cause, but it is certainly not an isolated incident in present-day Italy.

While soccer hooliganism has been suppressed in many parts of Europe, Italy remains an exception. Following a recent series of incidents the interior minister Giuseppe Pisanu claimed he is prepared to close stadiums to stop the trend. "Violence has many faces," he said in a letter published by Corriere della Sera.

"There are the fans who have transformed the old spirit of local pride into violence and others who try to influence the decisions of their club. There are those who are politicised - on Sunday Lazio fans displayed swastikas and fascist banners in their home end - and those who target police and carabinieri."

Yesterday, Pisanu met the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who confirmed that his government is ready to take drastic measures against an increasing wave of violence in Italian soccer.

"The analysis of the situation in various stadiums confirmed there is the huge risk that episodes even more serious could happen in the future," said Berlusconi. "We have to reduce this risk with every possible measure, even extreme ones."

Uefa's control and disciplinary body will deal with the case tomorrow after which Inter may be forced to play at least two European games behind closed doors or at neutral venues, although there is also the possibility they will be thrown out of European competition for one season.

There is a precedent for expulsion. Fiorentina were thrown out of the Uefa Cup in 1998 after a home-made explosive device hurled from the crowd during the match against Swiss side Grasshopper injured the fourth official and caused the match to be abandoned.

"My guess is that Internazionale are close to being expelled from next season's competition and will need some very powerful mitigating factors to avoid such a ban," said a senior Uefa figure yesterday.

"The disciplinary body have the full range of sanctions at their disposal but the panel is independent and one cannot predict their decisions," said Uefa communications director William Gaillard. "There have been several shocking incidents recently, but this is the worst. We must make sure it doesn't happen again."

Inter's punishment could be affected by precedent. In 2001, Inter fans threw bottles, seats and flagpoles at the players during a Uefa Cup defeat against Alaves for which the club were banned from San Siro for two matches.

And Inter also had a domestic stadium ban imposed by Serie A officials three years ago after "ultras" hurled a scooter from the second tier of the San Siro.