Photo Gallery Italy Faces Soccer Violence
Policeman Filippo Raciti, killed in a soccer riot in the Sicilian town of Catania on Friday, will be laid to rest on Monday. The match pitted Catania against Palermo.
Italian commentators compared the scene on the streets outside the Catania stadium to Baghdad and Vietnam. This scene is a screen grab from SKYTG24.
Immediately after the riot, all Serie A matches scheduled for the weekend were cancelled. here, the stadium in Milan is empty. It was scheduled to host a match between power houses Inter Milan and AS Roma.
A man in Catania lays flowers outside the stadium. Some 100 people were injured in the massive brawl that took place outside the stadium. Police officer Filippo Raciti was killed when an explosive device was thrown into his vehicle.
Raciti will be laid to rest on Monday. Italy's interior minister has said he will stop hooliganism even if it means "an end to soccer."
A number of police officers were injured in the brawl with many having to be sent to hospital.
The battle pitted Catania fans against the police, as this SKYTG24 screen grab shows. "The ambush," said a Catania prosecutor, "was not against Palermo fans. It was against police officers."
Police managed to arrest 29 people, but many more were involved in the brawl.
The rioting outside the stadium began already in the first half. The police fired tear gas at the hooligans -- which then drifted inside the stadium.
The game had to be interrupted for awhile to let the tear gas -- and the smoke from smoke bombs lit off inside the stadium -- to clear.
After the battle, the streets of Catania were quiet, but for some burning trash containers.
