Eight arrested and 470 fans kicked out of Italy after football fan violence in Naples
By Barbie Latza Nadeau and Amy Cassidy, CNN
Five Napoli fans and three Eintracht Frankfurt fans have been arrested after violent clashes erupted in Naples ahead of the Champions League match on Wednesday, Alessandro Iuliano of the city’s police headquarters said at a press conference Thursday.
Two law enforcement officers were injured in the clashes which left several cars, including at least one police car, burned. One German fan suffered stab wounds and eight others were treated for injuries.
The clashes happened when 470 Eintracht Frankfurt ultra fans — who had been banned from entering the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for the round of 16 second leg between Napoli and Frankfurt — marched in central Naples, forcing a police line to keep them separated from Napoli ultras, who were also banned from the stadium.
On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the 470 ultras were taken by bus from the Hotel Royal Continental where they were staying and were identified and photographed by police, before being escorted to local airports.
Of those, 120 were taken to the police station in Frosinone where they were processed before being taken to Fiumicino airport in Rome.
The other 350 were taken to Salerno before being accompanied to the airport to fly back to Germany, the Prefect of Naples, Claudio Palomba, said at the press conference.
Police are combing surveillance video footage to see if any of those who have now been identified were involved in the violence.
Palomba added that the Napoli and Eintracht fans did not interact with each other and that the clashes were with law enforcement and against property.
Palomba said that there are also around 300-400 Napoli fans who are banned from the stadium and did not specifically condemn the fans of the German club for acting alone, despite calls from a number of Italian politicians, including Matteo Salvini, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, who directly blamed them.
A total damage report has not been released, but several cars and storefronts were vandalized.
Footage filmed by Reuters on Wednesday showed groups of men attacking riot police with flame throwers and objects in the smoke-shrouded streets of Naples.
Following reports of violence in the first leg of the tie back in Germany, Italian authorities banned Napoli from selling tickets for Wednesday’s match to Frankfurt fans, according to a statement from Eintracht Frankfurt published on its website on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi condemned the violence and said he had called Germany’s Ambassador to Italy, Viktor Elbling.
Frankfurt told CNN it was unable to comment publicly on the incidents in Naples.
CNN has reached out to UEFA and Napoli but is yet to receive a response.
The-CNN-Wire
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