ROME -- Fans rioted and Italian soccer was thrown into
disarray Sunday after a Lazio fan was shot to death by police at a
highway rest stop.
An officer accidentally shot and killed a Lazio fan while trying
to contain a clash with Juventus supporters in Tuscany, police
said. Hours later, hundreds of enraged fans rioted in Rome,
attacking a police station. The mob stormed the yard of a police
station near the Rome's Olympic Stadium, hurled stones at passing
police cars, and smashed windows at the nearby Italian Olympic
Committee headquarters.
Hundreds of youths, many with their faces covered by scarves and
ski masks, dragged metal barricades and trash bins to block off one
end of a bridge spanning the Tiber near the station. The rioters
smashed a window in the police station and set a police vehicle on
fire inside the gate.
The death also led to the postponement of two games and the
suspension of another, while across the league players and referees
wore black armbands.
The victim was identified as Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old disc
jockey from Rome. He was traveling to Lazio's game at Serie A
leader Inter Milan.
The Italian soccer federation postponed the Inter-Lazio game,
which will be played at an undetermined date. Also postponed was
the Sunday night game between AS Roma and Cagliari in the capital.
The other games were ordered to start 10 minutes late.
Juventus rallied from two goals down on the road to tie Parma
2-2. Udinese beat Fiorentina 2-1 to hand the Viola its first loss
of the season, and Livorno downed Siena 3-2.
"In the locker room, the feeling was different," Juventus
coach Claudio Ranieri said. "It didn't feel like an important
game. Everyone was asking if it was right to play or not."
The death prompted clashes between fans and police in Bergamo,
where AC Milan was playing Atalanta. The game was suspended after
seven minutes when Atalanta fans tried to break through a barrier
and storm their way onto the field. It will be replayed at another
time.
Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni tried to calm the fans but to no
avail, and both teams headed into the locker room.
Fans at other stadiums took down their usual banners, and Torino
fans entered the stadium late as a sign of mourning in a 1-1 tie
with Catania. Parma fans displayed only one banner, which read:
"Death is equal for everyone."
When Nicola Amoruso scored in Reggina's 2-0 win over Genoa, he
did not celebrate.
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LONDON -- Manchester United put the pressure on Arsenal by
beating Blackburn 2-0 in the English Premier League to take over
first place.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals in two minutes. He scored on
a header after taking a cross from Ryan Giggs, and a minute later
shot into the corner of the goal in United's next attack.
David Dunn was sent off after picking up his second yellow card
for a foul on United striker Louis Saha, who was starting his first
league game this season after recovering from injury.Wayne Rooney
was missing after hurting his ankle during training Friday.
United moved ahead of Arsenal to lead the standings with 30
points, but the Gunners can move into first place again Monday if
they beat Reading.
Everton tied Chelsea 1-1 behind Tim Cahill's injury-time goal on
a bicycle kick. Cahill scored after Juliano Belletti failed to
clear a shot by James McFadden. Didier Drogba had given Chelsea the
lead with a header in the 70th minute.
Manchester City, which is in third place with 26 points, held
Porstmouth to a 0-0 tie. Gabriel Agbonlahor scored the winning goal
moments after making a goal-line clearance in Aston Villa's 2-1
victory over city rival Birmingham.
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AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley
scored the only goal in SC Heerenveen's 1-0 win over Vitesse Arnhem
in the Dutch league.
Heerenveen played the entire second half without striker Afonso
Alves, who was ejected in the 45th minute for a foul on midfielder
Remco van der Schaaf.
Ajax stayed in first place in the league by holding Feyenoord to
a 2-2 draw.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst gave Feyenoord the lead in the 27th
minute, but Dennis Rommedahl tied the score and Siem de Jong put
Ajax in front. De Guzman then made it 2-2 when he scored off a
rebound after Maarten Stekelenburg had saved Theo Lucius' penalty
kick.
Undefeated Ajax leads the league with 25 points. Feyenoord,
which trails on goal difference, also has 25 points, one more than
PSV Eindhoven.
Jefferson Farfan scored in PSV's 1-1 tie against AZ Alkmaar. Ari
scored for AZ.
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MADRID, Spain -- Real Madrid rallied to beat Mallorca 4-3 in
the Spanish league, getting two goals from Robinho and one each
from Raul Gonzalez and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Robinho gave the defending champions the lead in the 12th
minute, but Fernando Varela scored the first of his two goals to
tie the score two minutes later. Robinho added a second in the
17th, but Varela answered with a goal in the 37th.
Daniel Guiza then put Mallorca ahead in the 58th, but Raul
scored five minutes later and Van Nistelrooy capped the scoring
with the winning goal in the 73rd.
Madrid, which is 6-0 at home, leads the league with 28 points,
four more than FC Barcelona and Valencia.
Atletico Madrid's title hopes were hurt by a 0-0 tie at Almeria.
Atletico, which dropped to sixth place with 21 points, almost
conceded a goal on several occasions. In the 31st minute, Atletico
goalkeeper Leo Franco saved a penalty kick by Felipe Melo, and Kalu
Uche hit the crossbar five minutes later.
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BERLIN -- Bayer Leverkusen moved into fifth place in the
Bundesliga by defeating VfL Wolfsburg 2-1.
Stefan Kiessling played a role in both goals. Tranquillo
Barnetta put back a blocked attempt from Kiessling in the 37th
minute, and the forward scored the second in the 52nd with a
sidefoot of a cross.
Arminia Bielefeld broke a seven-game winless streak with a 3-1
win over German Cup champion FC Nuremberg, which has fallen into
the relegation zone.
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GLASGOW, Scotland -- Hearts beat Aberdeen 4-1 in the
Scottish Premier League.
Andrew Driver, Andrius Velicka, Ibrahim Tall and Christian Nade
scored a goal each for sixth-place Hearts.
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PARIS -- Bordeaux advanced to third place in the French
league by downing Rennes 3-0 on two goals by David Bellion and one
by substitute Gabriel Obertan.
Lorient defeated Toulouse 1-0 to end a nine-game winless streak
and climb into 11th place. Fabrice Abriel scored the only goal.
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ATHENS, Greece -- Panathinaikos took over first place in the
Greek league after beating AEK Athens 2-1 on goals from Vangelis
Mantzios and Dimitris Salpingidis.
Nikos Lymberopoulos scored for AEK, which dropped to second
place with 18 points, one less than Panathinaikos.
Aris Thessaloniki, which topped Atromitos 2-1, moved into third
place with 16 points, one more than defending champion Olympiakos.