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Crisis talks on Italian football Italian fans face stadium lockout
(about 1 hour later)
Crisis talks on how to combat violence in Italian football are under way, with the government warning that either the fighting stops, or the football will. Italy's football stadiums will not re-open to fans until safety standards are met and security improved, Interior Minister Giuliano Amato has said.
Earlier, thousands of people turned out in Sicily for the funeral of a police officer killed in a riot on Friday. Speaking after emergency talks, Mr Amato said tougher sentences for hooligans would also be introduced and legal cases processed much faster.
All matches were indefinitely suspended following Filippo Raciti's death. The planned measures will be discussed by Italy's cabinet on Wednesday.
But a senior Italian football official has said deaths are part of football, a comment condemned as "madness" by Prime Minister Romano Prodi. All football matches in Italy were suspended indefinitely on Friday after a policeman was killed by rioting fans.
"Only those stadia that meet the security norms will re-open to the fans. The other stadia will be used to play in but without fans until they meet guidelines," Mr Amato said after his emergency meeting with Italian football federation officials.
In stadia like that of Catania I will not admit anyone, I am firm on this Interior Minister Giuliano Amato "In stadia like that of Catania [where the policeman was killed] I will not admit anyone, I am firm on this."
According to Luigi Scotti, undersecretary at the justice ministry, only five stadiums currently meet the necessary safety regulations.
The five are reported to be Rome's Stadio Olimpico, Sienna's Artemio Franchi, the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Renzo Barbera in Palermo and Bologna's Renato Dall'Ara.
The head of Italy's football federation, Luca Pancalli, has said that no decision on when matches should resume will be made before Wednesday's cabinet meeting.
'Unacceptable' comments
Earlier on Monday, thousands of people gathered at Catania cathedral in Sicily for the funeral of slain police officer Filippo Raciti.
Crowds clapped as Mr Raciti's coffin was carried to the cathedralMr Raciti was killed outside the city's Massimino stadium following a match against a nearby rival team from Palermo.
Although he was initially believed to have died when a homemade bomb was hurled into his vehicle, a post-mortem revealed that a blow from a blunt object caused the injuries which killed him.
A senior Italian football official has said deaths are part of football, a comment condemned as "madness" by Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper on Monday, Antonio Matarrese, the president of Italy's Professional Football League Clubs association, said matches should be allowed to start again.In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper on Monday, Antonio Matarrese, the president of Italy's Professional Football League Clubs association, said matches should be allowed to start again.
It is unacceptable that this incident be considered normal. The Italian government will take all the necessary measures Romano Prodi "Deaths unfortunately form part of this huge movement which is football and which the forces of order are not always able to control," Mr Matarrese was quoted as saying. "Deaths unfortunately form part of this huge movement which is football and which the forces of order are not always able to control," Mr Matarrese was quoted as saying.
"Football should never be stopped. It's the number one rule: football is the industry... do you think there's an industry that would close its factories and not know when they're going to reopen?""Football should never be stopped. It's the number one rule: football is the industry... do you think there's an industry that would close its factories and not know when they're going to reopen?"
Deadly blow The situation is totally out of control and there are too many and they are too organised Football fan Gianna d'Avanzo But Mr Prodi, speaking to reporters on a trip to Luxembourg, said that such a view was "unacceptable".
But Mr Prodi, speaking to reporters on a trip to Luxembourg, said that such a view was "unacceptable".
"I read the unacceptable comments this morning about what happened as if it were something that is inevitable. It's madness," he said."I read the unacceptable comments this morning about what happened as if it were something that is inevitable. It's madness," he said.
"It is unacceptable that this incident be considered normal. The Italian government will take all the necessary measures.""It is unacceptable that this incident be considered normal. The Italian government will take all the necessary measures."
Crowds clapped as Mr Raciti's coffin was carried to the cathedralMr Raciti was killed outside the Massimino stadium in Catania, Sicily, following a match against a nearby rival team from Palermo. The BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome says violence in Italian football has until now been ignored by the government and allowed to fester.
Although he was initially believed to have died when a homemade bomb was hurled into his vehicle, a post-mortem revealed that a blow from a blunt object caused the injuries which killed him. But after Friday's events, our correspondent says, many people are calling for the authorities to look to how British clubs have tackled football hooliganism through the creation of fully seated stadiums, greater use of surveillance cameras and intelligence sharing and strict punishments for anyone involved in violence.
Thousands of people turned out in Catania's cathedral square to pay their respects to the slain officer, whose funeral service was broadcast nationwide. Gianna d'Avanzo, a supporter of Inter Milan football club, told the BBC that the Italian game was falling foul of groups of hooligans who attended matches simply to fight.
Mourners clapped as Filippo Raciti's flag-draped coffin was taken into the cathedral and across the country people observed a minute's silence.
British remedy
Italy's interior minister, who attended the funeral, warned of an "extraordinary response" to the violence.
Giuliano Amato told La Repubblica newspaper: "The fans are risking the possibility of never seeing football again - of being without football forever, with stadiums empty and barred."
The situation is totally out of control and there are too many and they are too organised Football fan Gianna d'Avanzo Gianna d'Avanzo, a supporter of Inter Milan football club, told the BBC that the Italian game was falling foul of groups of hooligans who attended matches simply to fight.
"In the stadiums we have young fighters going there, not to see the football matches, but just to start a fight. So the problem is not with all the supporters but with just a part of it, quite violent people, they're just fanatics and mainly young fascists, willing to fight," he said."In the stadiums we have young fighters going there, not to see the football matches, but just to start a fight. So the problem is not with all the supporters but with just a part of it, quite violent people, they're just fanatics and mainly young fascists, willing to fight," he said.
He said that finance for some supporters' clubs needed to be cut to help curb their activities: He said finance for some supporters' clubs needed to be cut to help curb their activities:
"The situation is totally out of control and there are too many and they are too organised. The only thing would be creating a law that could stop the stream of money going from the club to some supporters so they could stop being so organised and so strong basically.""The situation is totally out of control and there are too many and they are too organised. The only thing would be creating a law that could stop the stream of money going from the club to some supporters so they could stop being so organised and so strong basically."
The BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome says many people are calling for the authorities to look to how British clubs have tackled football hooliganism through the creation of fully seated stadiums, greater use of surveillance cameras and intelligence sharing and strict punishments for anyone involved in violence.