BREAKING NEWS: INTER-LAZIO OFF

Inter-Lazio has been called off after the tragic death of a Biancocelesti supporter. The other Serie A games are going ahead, but 15 minutes late.

This morning at around 9.00 local time a group of Lazio Ultras attacked a small number of Juventus supporters at a motorway service station in Badia al Pino, Arezzo.

The Bianconeri appealed to a passing police car for help and in the ensuing melee a shot was fired, killing one of the Lazio fans. It is believed the shot went off by accident.

The victim has been named as 26-year-old Gabriele Sandri, a famous DJ in the Rome area who was also well known to members of the Lazio squad and staff.

As San Siro was emptied, Lazio staff members were seen walking away in tears after discovering the name of the slain supporter.

Inter-Lazio has now officially been called off, while the other Serie A games will begin 15 minutes late as a sign of mourning.

There are fears the way this incident played out means fans around Italy will increase the tension against the police and there have already been clashes in Bergamo between Atalanta Ultras and the authorities.

Fans around the country are removing their banners from the stadiums in a sign of mourning and protest.

One down, the rest to go

Axeslammer wrote:One down, the rest to go

f@ck sake axe

Axeslammer wrote:One down, the rest to go

f@ck off man...no need for that.

L r d wrote:

Axeslammer wrote:One down, the rest to go

f@ck sake axe

Pfft, the Lazio Ultra's are as bad a terrorist organization as Al Quaida...

So will channel 5 be showing another game today?

What time was the Inter - Lazio game scheduled for kick off? majority of the games are at 15:10 (GMT) today.

15:00 gmt...

Fiorentina v Udinese (15:10 GMT) is being shown live on Five.

A bit distasteful Axe. Sad to hear of the incident and potentially an interesting game called off as a result. Sounds like the Lazio group started it, but its no reason to end it with death. Crazy if the police car just drove past.

Ahh I misunderstood the situation, didn't realise it was a police bullet that caused the death! I read it as the police car driving past and doing nothing! Interesting to see what comes out of the incident and what exactly it says about Italian Ultras and the Police I guess.

Axe, the guy was on his way to the game. It isn't even clear that he was a Lazio Ultra. The reaction of Lazio team and officials suggests that he wasn't. Remember that Lazio supporters turned against the Ultras when they tried to take over the club and Lazio's President needed protection for standing up to them. Lazio's ultras are scum, but that guy did not deserve what happened to him. Reports say the bullet him through the window of his car. Doesn't sound like he was anything other than an innocent victim.

They're saying it was an accident and not intentional. But Atalanta-Milan has also been called off due to fan trouble...quite coincidental that fan trouble strikes again with 2 incidents on the same day, after everyone called for massive changes after the police officer's death last season.

kas wrote:They're saying it was an accident and not intentional. But Atalanta-Milan has also been called off due to fan trouble...quite coincidental that fan trouble strikes again with 2 incidents on the same day, after everyone called for massive changes after the police officer's death last season.

The trouble at Milan and Atalanta was for that reason Kas. They weren't fighting each other...they were both confronting police and causing trouble.

Was strange to see the Atalanta players confronting their fans who's actions were resulting in the game being abandoned. Not too sure what they were ever going to get out of it. They obviously were looking to voice their disapproval of the police through a big match, but calling off their own game? Seems weird, you would have thought they would have caused the majority of trouble outside the stadium.

NCFC wrote:Was strange to see the Atalanta players confronting their fans who's actions were resulting in the game being abandoned. Not too sure what they were ever going to get out of it. They obviously were looking to voice their disapproval of the police through a big match, but calling off their own game? Seems weird, you would have thought they would have caused the majority of trouble outside the stadium.

The Milan and Atalanta fans were pressuring the players before the match outside the stadium to refuse to play, then the police baton charged a section of the Atalanta supporters.

Inside the stadium, the fans tried again to pressure the players to call of the match and threatened to continue the riots if they didn't - you saw the flares and the plexiglass, Doni and some of the Atalanta players tried to confront the Ultras but they ignored them. In the end we see the referee has no choice but to suspend the match, we saw very similar pressure in that infamous Rome derby a few campaigns ago.

kas wrote:They're saying it was an accident and not intentional. But Atalanta-Milan has also been called off due to fan trouble...quite coincidental that fan trouble strikes again with 2 incidents on the same day, after everyone called for massive changes after the police officer's death last season.

Why not try actually waiting or reading up on the topic before drawing conclusions? This person seems like he was a victim of a freak accident. The other ultras are showing solidarity, and frankly as much as I hate them, the FIGC was totally wrong to let the games go on this weekend.

I did read up on it, and that's what I based my comments on until Deano pointed out that the Atalanta fans protested because of this earlier incident, which I did post was unintentional.

Forza Italia!Forza Milan! wrote:

kas wrote:They're saying it was an accident and not intentional. But Atalanta-Milan has also been called off due to fan trouble...quite coincidental that fan trouble strikes again with 2 incidents on the same day, after everyone called for massive changes after the police officer's death last season.

Why not try actually waiting or reading up on the topic before drawing conclusions? This person seems like he was a victim of a freak accident. The other ultras are showing solidarity, and frankly as much as I hate them, the FIGC was totally wrong to let the games go on this weekend.

Absolutely, the more that emerges from the medias the more incredible this accident seems, that Sandri was sitting in the back seat of a stationary car across the station! The police only alerted to the event as they drove past and saw the trouble

Have you heard anything of the breaking news? Marca reporting....

"200 radical Roma supporters assualt a police station in a weekend of huge violence in Italy".

NCFC wrote:Have you heard anything of the breaking news? Marca reporting....

"200 radical Roma supporters assualt a police station in a weekend of huge violence in Italy".

http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Primo_Piano/2007/11_Novembre/11/mortotifoso.shtml

Yes, the Lazio and Roma Ultras worked together on the pressure to postpone the Roma- Cagliari match, they held a big meeting earlier this evening. The medias are alledging that it was Lazio fans who seiged the station with clubs and boulders.

Unbelievable. Was inevitable that this would happen in this fixture with the obvious Roma, Lazio connections. I think as many posters have said, the whole weekend should have been postponed similarly to the weekend of violence last season.

FFS...mental.

@ Axe: The Italian police have apologised for the death of Gabrielle Sandri, calling it a tragic accidcent. He was hit by a stray bullet while sitting in a car. He was not involved in te violence earlier and as I said does not appear to have been a Lazio Ultra.

It's a complete hell in Rome at the moment.

The Lazio-Roma Ultras have entered into a sort of 'pact' and basically terrorising authority parts of the city as a mark of 'revenge' against the police. Make no mistake, the Ultras are calling this death a 'murder', and there have been particularly inflammatory comments from Sandri's lawyer and brother that have only excacerbated this tragic situation. The Arezzo authorities and the Police haven't helped, their official statement of events is laughable.

The Ulltras have fire-bombed, petrol-bombed cars and buses, the police had to gas Ultras outside the Olimpico because of tensions and a group of Ultras tried to invade CONI Headquaters! The police are now going to try and ban away supporters from all matches indefinately.


Pictures from Rome:

















And from Bergamo - Atalanta-Milan

Bloody hell, it looks awful. The one thing I don't understand about the death is why the policeman fired at the car. Surely a warning shot should be fired somewhere with no risk of injury or harm, not in the direction of cars where there could be people.

Sheffield gunner wrote:Bloody hell, it looks awful. The one thing I don't understand about the death is why the policeman fired at the car. Surely a warning shot should be fired somewhere with no risk of injury or harm, not in the direction of cars where there could be people.

According to the offical police statement two shots were fired. The first shot was fired as the police walked toward the incident and was fired into the air to 'induce' the crowd. The second is the problem and the source of many conflicting reports but the police are calling it an accidental firing as the officer in question lowered his weapon after the first shot.

Who knows? But Sandri was in the back seat of a Renault and was shot in the back of the head.

This is just terrible. An innocent fan killed for no reason, apparently many Lazio players knew him well.

FIGC should have called off all the games. Sometimes a sport needs a reality check - nothing is worth a mans life.

bluenine wrote:This is just terrible. An innocent fan killed for no reason, apparently many Lazio players knew him well.

FIGC should have called off all the games. Sometimes a sport needs a reality check - nothing is worth a mans life.

De Silvestri was a friend, he DJ'd at his 18th birthday, he was absolutely distraught today, he was well-known in Rome at the clubs and a member of the club really, even the Lazio directors have called him 'one of their own',

Very sad. I was actually in Arezzo only two weeks ago as well.

I'm sure more info will come to light over the comnig week, but the info that is presently coming from the police seems somewhat dubious