Napoli and Roma fans have been banned from traveling to away games for two months after last weekend’s mass brawl sparked chaos on a major Italian motorway, Italy’s Interior Ministry said on Saturday. . Hardcore “ultra” fans of both teams engaged in battles on the A1 motorway on Sunday after they met at the Badia al Pino gas station in Tuscany on their way to matches at Sampdoria and AC Milan, creating queues of up to 15km. . Nicknamed the “highway of the sun”, the A1 runs from Naples to Rome and then all the way to Milan in northern Italy and is one of the most important highways in Italy.
In a statement, the ministry said it had ordered “the closure for two months from today (Saturday) of the sections of the stadiums where SSC Napoli and AS Roma play away from home.”
The ban also extends to the sale of tickets in the local areas of those same stadiums “to persons residing in the provinces of Naples and Rome.”
Serie A leaders Napoli welcome Roma fans in the league on January 29.
Fans of the two clubs who live in other parts of the country have not been prevented from buying tickets in the local sections, a common occurrence for matches in Italy that rarely causes problems.
Earlier on Saturday, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said he was ready to approve the ban, telling reporters he had to “consider a blanket ban on the two fan games for reasons of public order.”
Matches between Roma and Napoli are exciting due to the rivalry between two of the biggest and most passionate fan bases in Italy.
Antipathy turned fully venomous after the fatal shooting of Napoli fan Ciro Esposito by a Roma supporter near the Stadio Olimpico ahead of the 2014 Italian Cup final.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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