By Andrew Warshaw
November 22 – Ten Tottenham Hotspur fans – nine British and one American – are recovering after being injured in a violent attack by Lazio supporters ahead of the Europa League fixture between the teams in Rome tonight.
Dozens of Lazio backers wearing helmets and with their faces covered ambushed a bar in downtown Rome in the early hours of this morning where visiting Spurs fans were congregating, according to police.
One fan was stabbed and is in a serious condition, prompting Italian senator Raffaele Ranucci to call on the authorities to consider suspending the game.
One bystander who witnessed the violence said the assailants appeared to have planned the attack.
“The Italians were very organised, with helmets, bats, even balaclavas,” Giuseppe Tamborra was quoted as saying.
“There were much fewer of the English.
“I saw four people lying on the ground, one with his forehead cut open from here to here, probably with a stool taken from the bar.”
The attack took place at a popular tourist pub, which was left wrecked according to photographs published in the Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
The American owners of the bar, located in the central square of Campo de’ Fiori, called the incident a “tragedy” and said they would consider claiming damages.
Owner Mario Manzi told the BBC that the Spurs fans tried to hide when the assailants burst in.
“There were rocks, iron bars, everything,” he said.
“The English fans were very calm, they weren’t even drunk, then these men with heads covered came barging in throwing cobblestones.
“They had clubs and metal rods.
“It lasted about 20 minutes.”
Italian newspaper La Repubblica described the scene as “urban warfare” and said up to 100 Lazio “Ultras” – hard-core fans of the club who are often associated with far-right politics – had attacked the pub.
Many Tottenham fans claim a Jewish identity for their team and hundreds travelled over for the game at the Stadio Olimpico.
Conversely, Lazio’s “Ultras” have in the past been linked with anti-Semitism.
Last month, UEFA fined Lazio €40,000 (£32,000/$52,000) for racist chanting directed at black players in the corresponding fixture in north London in September.
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