April 4 – Trouble in Rome
ROMA won the first leg of a Champions League quarter final against Manchester United 2-1 on this day in 2007, but the result was largely overshadowed by terrible scenes in the stands as United fans and Italian police clashed.
Roma is well known as a club with fanatical supporters, some of whom have been known to use violence in the past. The hard core fans called the Ultras have often caused trouble in the past, sometimes with English clubs as Middlesbrough found out in 2006 when three of their fans were stabbed and 10 others hurt during fights with Roma fans when the teams met in the Uefa Cup quarter finals.
Video contains swearing!
When the Roma/Man United tie was announced the Old Trafford club issued instructions to their travelling fans to avoid certain areas of the city where the Ultras were known to congregate. But Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni condemned the warning and claimed it could provoke violence rather than avoid it. He told Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport: “Rome is a city that welcomes everyone in a hospitable manner. I consider what appeared on the Manchester United website to be an unfortunate accident, but also dangerous because it risks creating a negative climate. I have spoken on the telephone to the English ambassador. Rome is a serene and welcoming city.”
The atmosphere inside the Stadio Olimpico was anything but serene and welcoming once the match was underway.
BBC correspondent Christian Fraser, who was in the stadium, said trouble flared after Roma fans ran towards the perspex partition which separated the supporters.
He said Manchester United fans reacted and the police moved in with their batons in a response that was “at best robust and in some cases some officers went completely over the top”.
The Independent Manchester United Supporters Association (IMSA) led the condemnation of police for what it said were “hideous” attacks on fans. Spokeswoman Carly Lyes said: “There was no need for the brutal level of violence they showed. The police charged in from all angles and were hitting people indiscriminately.
“They didn’t care who got hurt. People were running all over the place trying to get away. It was chaos.”
The day after the match Manchester United released an official statement and asked fans to come forward and give witness statements. “The disturbing scenes witnessed in the Stadio Olimpico last night shocked everyone at Old Trafford,” read the statement. “In what the club views as a serious over-reaction, local police handed out indiscriminate beatings to United supporters.”
Rome’s chief of police defended his officers actions. Achille Serra said: “To criticise the police is a sport. The British like to do it. The police were forced to intervene between two sets of violent fans.”
He added: “The stewards were literally swept aside and at that point the police were obliged to intervene. If people are criticising the security forces… I was at the stadium and I saw no negative behaviour. Certainly when you are facing facts of this nature you can not hand out flowers, that much is clear.”
A Home Office investigation was launched into the matter while Uefa fined both clubs. United were given a £14,526 penalty while Roma were fined £31,125 after their supporters were deemed to have behaved worse.
Perhaps the worst thing for all those involved was that the two clubs had to meet again a week later, this time at Old Trafford, for the second leg. It was feared United fans might use it as an opportunity for reprisals against their Italian counterparts.
There were clashes outside the ground before kick-off and 21 people were arrested, 14 English and seven Italian but there were no injuries and there was no trouble inside the ground – except for the Roma defence that is who conceded seven goals en route to a 7-1 hiding at the hands of a rampant United side.
See all eight goals below and come back tomorrow for more of the same from us. Last year on this day, we told you about this.
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