Months after a match-fixing scandal rocked Italian soccer, the nation's favorite sport was again in shock when massive fan rioting claimed the life of a police officer and injured scores of other people.
The death of the 38-year-old policeman during a match between Sicilian sides Catania and Palermo caused soccer officials to suspend all matches at the weekend.
It left politicians wonder how to confront violence in soccer stadiums, with many calling for zero-tolerance measures and others looking to Britain -- a country that has largely solved its hooliganism -- for possible solutions.
It was a harsh reality for a country that recently celebrated the national side's World Cup victory.
"Policeman killed, soccer under shock," read the headline of Italy's top newspaper Corriere della Sera.
"We are talking about a cancer, not a seasonal flu," wrote Gianni Mura, a leading soccer commentator, in Saturday's editions of La Repubblica.
In a country where soccer is a religion for many, the Vatican paper also weighed in, calling the policeman's death "unacceptable folly."
"Let's acknowledge this: soccer in Italy dies last night with the policeman," L'Osservatore Romano said.
The rioting outside Catania's Angelo Massimino stadium started during the second half of the match. Police fired tear gas, which wafted into the stadium and forced the match to be temporarily suspended.
The violence continued after the game, in which Palermo beat Catania 2-1, trapping hundreds of fans inside the stadium as authorities sought to avoid further violence. About 100 people were injured, according to RAI state-run TV.
Police detained 22 fans -- including nine minors -- and sealed off the stadium, reports said. None was suspected of killing the officer.
The officer, 38-year-old Chief Inspector Filippo Raciti, died after an explosive device was thrown into his vehicle, police said.
UEFA president Michel Platini expressed concern over the latest episode of violence in European soccer, and vowed to work with Italy to fight it.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi promised drastic measures and a "radical change."
"People must understand that there must be a turning point," he said. "We can't keep risking the lives of law police officers."
In 2005, faced with a surge in violence in stadiums across the country, the conservative government led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi passed tougher measures, including tickets with holders' names printed on them and video surveillance at stadiums with more than 10,000 seats.
Italy's World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi said soccer clubs needed to take more responsibility.
"The clubs should say to their fans that instead of acquiring players to reinforce their teams, the money is directed to guarantee safety, just like they do in England," Lippi said on Saturday.
Soccer in Britain was plagued by hooliganism throughout the 1970s and 1980s. English teams were banned from European competition for five years after 39 people were killed at the 1985 European Cup final at the Heysel stadium in Brussels when Liverpool fans charged their Juventus counterparts and a stadium wall collapsed.
After another stadium disaster in 1989, the British government passed legislation to improve safety at matches. All-seater stadiums were introduced, along with strict ticketing arrangements, registration of known hooligans and controls on alcohol.
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