The hooliganism that marred Napoli’s Serie A opener at Roma last weekend may have been arranged by the Naples Mafia, Italy’s police chief Antonio Manganelli has suggested.
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has banned the Naples club’s fans from travelling to away games this season after the trouble, in which a Rome-bound train was vandalised causing €500,000 in damage.
“We have reason to believe that there was the influence of organised crime behind the incidents provoked by the Neapolitan fans,” Manganelli was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.
“It’s no coincidence that this investigation has been entrusted to the DDA (District Anti-Mafia Department).”
Ticketless fans fought with police and railway workers before effectively occupying the train in Naples. After they refused to get off, police advised regular passengers to disembark and take other trains.
Maroni said that the authorities may decide to stage some high-risk games behind closed doors in the future.
