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Football fan shot dead by police in Italy
By Felix Lowe
Last Updated: 4:18pm GMT 11/11/2007

An Italian football fan has been accidentally killed by a policeman during clashes between supporters of rival clubs in Italy.

The altercation took place at a motorway service station near Arezzo in Tuscany and involved supporters of top-tier sides Lazio and Juventus.

A senior police source said the victim – a Lazio fan – had been shot inside a car after a "tragic error" made by an officer who arrived at the scene to stop the clashes.
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The victim was identified as Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old disc jockey from Rome. He had been travelling to Milan to watch his side's game against Inter Milan.

A statement from the Arezzo police force said that the dynamics of the incident were not yet fully clear.

Arezzo police chief Vincenzo Giacobbe added: "Our officer had intervened to avert that scuffle, between two small groups of people who weren't (yet) identified as fans, from degenerating.

"I express deep sorrow and sincere condolences to the family of the victim."

Following urgent talks between football officials and the Italian government, the Italian football league postponed Lazio's match with champions Inter, which had been scheduled to kick off on Sunday afternoon.

The rest of the top Serie A league programme was delayed by 10 minutes as a result of the incident.

As news of the death spread around the country, tension rose between fans and police.

In the northern city of Bergamo two policemen were slightly injured after fights broke out before Atalanta's home game against AC Milan.

The match kicked off but was abandoned ten minute into the first half after a group of home fans tried to smash down a glass barrier keeping them from the pitch.

Despite protestations by the Atalanta players, the group of fans, with their faces covered in scarves, broke two holes in the barrier next to the goal.

Order was quickly restored, but officials decided to call off the game forty minutes after the interruption.

Italy has for a long time suffered from football violence and hooliganism.

In February this year a policeman was killed trying to calm riots between rival fans outside a top-flight match in the Sicilian town of Catania.

Sporadic violence has continued in recent months despite a national security crackdown.

Violence around stadiums, however, has said to have been cut by 80 per cent from last season, according to official statistics.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said he had been informed of the death of the Lazio fan when attending Mass.

Mr Prodi told reporters that the on-going football violence was "very worrisome".

* Ajao... Sad tje da prawe sranja i sranja...