By Mark Meadows
MILAN, Nov 11 - Italian soccer authorities are
meeting on Monday to discuss measures aimed at tackling
widespread fan violence sparked by the accidental shooting of a
Lazio supporter by a police officer on Sunday.
Riots hit Rome, with fans attacking a police barracks as
well as the Olympic Stadium and the headquarters of the Italian
Olympic Committee next door.
A top flight game between Atalanta and AC Milan was also
abandoned after seven minutes when fans tried to break down a
glass barrier keeping them from the pitch.
Police and the government are also set to hold talks to
clear up how the officer made such a "tragic error" and to try
to stem the violence, which mirrored riots outside a Catania
match in Sicily in February, where a policeman was killed.
That incident led to strict new security measures at soccer
stadiums but authorities may have to look again at the rules
amid calls to ban away fans from all grounds in future.
"It is another very sad and painful day for all of Italian
football," Italian soccer federation (FIGC) president Giancarlo
Abete said in a statement.
"The first thought is of huge condolences for the family of
Gabriele Sandri."
MEASURED RESPONSE
Abete said in the statement that he had convened a meeting
for later on Monday with his board as well as representatives
of the league, and player and coach associations.
They will discuss what to do about the Inter Milan v Lazio
and AS Roma v Cagliari matches, which were postponed on Sunday
because of the shooting and whether to play the Atalanta game
or award the points to Milan.
A report last month said injuries at stadiums caused by fan
violence had dropped by 80 percent from last season but Abete
has consistently said that soccer authorities could do little
to stamp out trouble away from the stadiums.
The clash between Lazio and Juventus fans which led to the
accidental shooting happened at a motorway service station in
the Tuscan city of Arezzo, far from any stadium.
The matter is complicated because Juve fans in particular
live across Italy, not just in their base of Turin, meaning
fans travel huge distances to see their team and often come
across rival fans on routes not usually associated with soccer
traffic.
Abete has also been at pains to point out that the shooting
was very different form February's death and that the response
should be measured.
"The loss of a life is always unacceptable but objectively
the dynamics of the dramatic episode is totally different from
the killing last February of inspector Raciti at Catania," he
said.
The unnamed officer under investigation for firing the
fatal shot told Italian paper Il Giornale that it seemed
impossible that he had hit the victim as he tried to stop the
disturbance.
"I am sure I fired into the air as a warning. I know what I
did, I wanted to break up the altercation. I can't have hit
him, I can't, I can't," he said.
(Editing by John O'Brien)