Italian soccer marred by death of fan

Violent clashes followed incident in city of Avellino after Naples follower dies in accident

A fan of Italian club Napoli died on Monday after falling from a stand at a Serie B match last weekend, police in the southern city of Avellino said.
Sergio Ercolano fell from the upper tier of the stadium in Avellino before the Serie B match against Napoli last Saturday and had been in a coma.
Reports said he had been part of a group of Napoli fans who charged police and entered the stadium without tickets by climbing over an external wall. Ercolano fell through a plastic roofing that was below the wall and above the stand.
Violent clashes followed the accident with police rounded upon by fans wielding sticks - a total of 34 civilians and military policemen were injured. After the violence the match was called off.
Following the ugly scenes in Avellino and just hours after the announcement of the death of Ercolano, Italy's Interior Minister warned soccer chiefs, he would not flinch at scrapping matches where fan safety could not be guaranteed.
"If circumstances force me, I won't hesitate to stop matches which carry big risks to public safety," Giuseppe Pisanu said in a statement after summoning the sport's bosses to Rome for emergency talks.
In addition to the sad death of Ercolano, more than 30 policemen were recovering from injuries after hundreds of Napoli fans, many wearing masks and armed with knives and sticks, invaded the pitch at Avellino.
Conscious of the Italian public's shock and blaring headlines like "Hell at the stadium!", Pisani on Monday called in police chiefs and the heads of the Italian Soccer League and the Soccer Federation.
"The safety of law enforcement officers and peaceful spectators is much more important than the entire soccer championship," Pisanu said.
"I expect the disciplinary committees of the sport's authorities to take decisions which show their absolute severity," he added.
The Avellino versus Napoli match was called off last Saturday night after the violence. Reports said Napoli fans were angered by the failure of the police to come quickly to the aid of Ercolano after his fall.
During the clashes, one policeman was stabbed in the leg and a 63-year-old police chief collapsed after being hit. A total of 34 civilian and military policemen were injured.
Officials have been studying television images to identify the culprits and on Monday said they have arrested a 21-year-old from Napoli.
The clashes were the latest in a series of violent incidents to mar the top two leagues of Italian soccer. Last season, matches involving Serie A sides Como and Torino had to be abandoned because of crowd trouble.
In the lower division, supporters attacked Napoli captain Francesco Baldini in his car and Messina goalkeeper Emanuele Manitta was punched unconscious by a fan during a match against Cagliari.
Away from last weekend's sad events, there was plenty of exciting action on the playing fields of Serie A. Parma's Australian midfielder Mark Bresciano said he was in dreamland after his two goals, including an 89th minute winner, gave his team a 3-2 win over Lazio in Serie A.
Bresciano opened the scoring after just 26 seconds at the Olympic stadium and it was the former Empoli midfielder who grabbed the decisive goal at the end with a superb finish to put Parma top of the league.
The result ended Lazio's winning start to the season in Serie A and Europe but coach Roberto Mancini refused to blame their midweek exertions in the Champions League for the loss.
Juventus and Roma drew 2-2 in their meeting at the Delle Alpi stadium and coaches on both sides were content with the result. Roma have seven points from three games and share top spot with Juve, Inter, Milan and Parma.
"Of the five teams at the top at the moment maybe Roma have a little advantage in that they don't have to play in the Champions League," said Juve coach Marcello Lippi.
Inter fell back to earth after their impressive 3-0 away win over Arsenal in midweek with a scrappy goalless draw at home to Sampdoria.
Coach Hector Cuper suggested his team may have paid the price for that memorable victory at Highbury.
"The fatigue, which was more psychological than physical, was felt," said Cuper. "It's normal to have a lapse in concentration after a great match."
AC Milan's winning start to the campaign also ended at the third hurdle with a 1-1 draw at Perugia. The European champions had to settle for a point at Perugia after Greek striker Zisis Vryzas cancelled out Gennaro Gattuso's opener for Milan.
Milan had midfielder Massimo Ambrosini sent off in the 70th minute but coach Carlo Ancelotti was far from unhappy with the point. However, one member of the AC Milan playing staff could not hold his anger and he didn't even play in the match.
Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo said on Monday he was being humiliated at Italian club AC Milan, where he was left on the substitutes' bench once again last weekend.
Rivaldo said he knew why he was being repeatedly overlooked by coach Carlo Ancelotti and said he would reveal the truth at an appropriate moment.
"It's not because I'm out of form or out of shape, you can be certain about that," he said in an interview with the Sao Paulo-based newspaper Jornal da Tarde.
"I know the real reason why I'm not playing and everybody else will also know at the right moment. Everyone here at Milan knows that my physical fitness is among the best in the squad, I always stand out in the tests. And that story about my not being well psychologically isn't true, either. I'm going through a humiliation."
Rivaldo joined Milan from Barcelona at the start of last season but has struggled to make an impact and played little more than a bit part in his side's victorious Champions League campaign.
Milan's vice-president Adriano Galliani said last week that Rivaldo would be allowed to leave if he asked for a move, adding that there was no problem between the forward and the club.
Rivaldo was picked for Brazil's opening two World Cup qualifiers earlier in September, although his lack of match fitness appeared to hold him back. But he said he still intended to be in the team when the 2006 World Cup comes around.
"I'm proud to have played 14 matches at the World Cup with the number 10 shirt and to have scored eight goals. The problem is that in Brazil people forget very quickly about what I've done," he said. While Rivaldo is mulling over his options and could leave AC Milan during the winter transfer window in January, Juventus striker Alessandro Del Piero faces a lengthy layoff after injuring a calf muscle during his side's Serie A match against AS Roma last weekend.
Del Piero could be out for up to 45 days and miss Champions League games against Real Sociedad and Olympiakos, as well as Italy's final Euro 2004 qualifier against Azerbaijan on October 12.
The Italian international limped off after 14 minutes of the match at Turin's Stadio delle Alpi, which finished 2-2.
"Straightaway I realized I had a muscular problem and asked for the substitution," Del Piero was quoted as saying on Juventus's official website.
The club said a more precise recovery time would be known after the striker had tests on Tuesday.

Publication Date: 2003-09-28
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3197