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Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti fears that the recent outbreak of hooliganism in Italian football could lead to another tragedy like the Heysel disaster.

“To be honest, I have a feeling that the horrors of the Heysel disaster could return after all that happened over the weekend in Italy,” Ancelotti told 168 Chasa.

A policeman shot dead a 26-year-old man during a scuffle between fans of Lazio and Juventus at a motorway service station in Tuscany on Sunday. The incident sparked riots by hundreds of fans across Italy.

The Heysel tragedy came at the height of the hooligan problems afflicting English football in the 1980s. Thirty-nine people, most of them Italian fans, died after a wall collapsed following a charge by Liverpool supporters before the 1985 European Cup final against Juventus at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

The tragedy led to English clubs being banned from European competition for five years.

“I’ve been talking so many times to Gigi Maifredi, who was Juventus coach at that time, and he said that he still can’t recover from the horror of Brussels,” said Ancelotti.

“Football is just a game and it should never turn into something that is a matter of life and death.”


A crucial Euro 2008 Group E clash as Israel host Russia, in a game all English fans will be keeping a close eye on. Click here for the latest odds!