Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has promised drastic measures to confront soccer violence after clashes by rampaging fans at a match left a policeman dead and over 150 people injured.
Prodi's comments came as Italy's football stadiums fell silent on Saturday with all play in the country's leagues suspended indefinitely after the death of Filippo Raciti, 38, on Friday.
He was killed when a large firecracker exploded in his face outside Catania's Massimino stadium during a Serie A match between Palermo and Catania - just six days after a club official died in a fight at the end of an amateur match in the southern town of Luzzi.
Prodi, who had already described the violence as a "degeneration of sport," said he would meet Interior Minister Giuliano Amato and Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri on Monday to come up with ideas for a "robust" measure.
"We cannot continuously put the lives of police officers at risk and need a remedy that makes soccer clubs feel responsible (for fans' actions) and radically changes the situation," Prodi told reporters in Bologna.
The latest violence prompted a wave of outrage in Italy, even though rowdy brawls at Italian football matches are hardly uncommon. Fans fighting each other or the police, and flares, firecrackers and explosives are often as much part of a Serie A match as banners, chants and cheering.
Raciti's death has resulted in the immediate suspension of all play by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), which also called for a moment of silence on Saturday and Sunday. "A strong signal was needed until we find measures to prevent certain episodes," said the FIGC's chief commissioner Luca Pancalli. He has called an indefinite halt to all matches, including Italy's international friendly against Romania in Siena on Wednesday.
Italian officials have suggested a speedy return to the stadiums for fans and players is unlikely, with minister Amato quoted as saying he would no longer send his police force into football stadiums under existing conditions.
"Enough is enough," he told Italian television. "Violence is everywhere, but violence in the stadiums connected to a game - I find that truly unacceptable."
Amato is also expected to address the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday. The Italian Olympic Committee, one of Italian sport's governing bodies, will hold an extraordinary meeting on Sunday to discuss the situation.
The president of the Italian Footballers' Association, Sergio Campana called for the leagues to be halted for at least a year. His suggestion - though unlikely to be followed - would at least give Italian clubs the chance to modernise their old-fashioned stadiums to bring them into line with those in other top European leagues.
Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey says he is not surprised by the violence. The Frenchman told sports daily L'Equipe on Saturday. "There had already been several incidents with the referees last summer. Now violence is back around the stadiums. "If we go on like this people will not come to the stadiums. We are in a vicious circle."
Raciti was the 13th person to be killed in or around Italy's football stadiums since 1962. The last fatality at a Serie A match happened in 1995 when a Genoa fan was stabbed to death before a game against AC Milan.
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