Some sort of violence has ever been a part of soccer games, especially if a match is being played at a crucial stage or between two teams having long running revelry. But, no violence has probably been as severe as it happened in a Europa League group stage match in Italy when many Tottenham fans were planned attacked by Roma fans. Perhaps, the injuries were so grim that some of them were in critical condition when they were taken to a nearby hospital. One fan: Ashley Mills, 25, of Essex, was stabbed by an unidentified man and remained in the hospital, while some are discharged after giving first aid treatment. The planned attack was carried out by a group of peoples who stormed the Drunken Ship pub in Rome last week and stabbed many Tottenham supporters ahead of a Europa League clash with Spurs. Two AS Roma fans: Francesco Ianari, 26, and Mauro Pinnelli, 25 have earlier been booked under attempt to murder charge, but later in court, their charges were downgraded to aggravated wounding and remained in Regina Coeli prison.
Both these players are banned for five years for attending any match’s ground during this period. Police is investigating the issue at the moment, and issue a statement via Rome police headquarters’ official website that reads as, “Agents of Rome police have informed two Roma fans in our custody that they are banned from accessing sporting events for the next five years.
“Francesco Ianari and Mauro Pinnelli were arrested on November 22 for aggression towards some British fans of Tottenham on the Campo de’ Fiori after being identified by police a few hours later.
“On that occasion, a group of people, most of them with their faces covered, entered the Drunken Ship pub and attacked some English supporters. Some of them were injured in the raid, one injury being particularly serious.”
The reason for this attack could be the anti-Semitic chanting for which Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas has already filed an official compliant with UEFA. In a similar anti-Semitic case in last October, when supporters sang “Juden Tottenham,” Lazio were fined with 40,000 euros. Hence, UEFA looks to be harsh when dealing such kinds of complaints. Anyways, for the time being, a violent act like this one is major cause of concern, and probably; Italian FA’s disciplinary committee would have been looking into this. Next few days are going to be busy for both police and FIGC.