Napoli Eintracht, clashes between ultras and fans: the latest news

NAPLES. Not even the 3-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt and the historic passage of the round to the quarter-finals of the Champions League has quenched the thirst for revenge of the Napoli ultras who, at the end of the match, repeatedly attempted to reach and attack the hotel which houses the violent German supporters in the waterfront area throwing stones and paper bombs. Three molts were also found. They were rejected by the police who also used tear gas to disperse the troublemakers. The Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti also tried to throw water on the fire: «But now to the fans who are delighted because we have reached an historic goal, I tell you not to go around the city and ruin the goal achieved. Be happy and content, leaving aside any kind of provocation that can be placed in front of us. Be happy and sing Forza Napoli».
After midnight, the forces of order try to understand if the conditions exist to safely move the German ultras.

Clashes before the game
Guerrilla in the center of Naples where clashes took place between Eintracht fans – who were forbidden to travel to the city for reasons of public order – and dozens of people with their faces covered by helmets. Via Calata Trinità Maggiore, in the heart of the city, was the scene of objects being thrown with overturned garbage cans. That’s where a police car was also set on fire. Terror among passers-by and street traders. The clashes began when the German fans authorized to follow the team, who had reached Piazza del Gesù from the seafront since this morning, had to get on the bus that would take them back to the hotel where they were staying. At that point several dozen troublemakers appeared with their faces covered and engaged in a fight while the police, in anti-riot gear, were busy dividing the factions and dispersing the ultras.

In the city, the 118 alert and the activity of the emergency rooms were strengthened. It is maximum alert in view of a possible greater influx of people. The emergency rooms of the Ospedale del Mare, Vecchio Pellegrini and the San Paolo hospital were also alerted.

Just before 6 pm the transfer of German fans on some public service buses began from Piazza del Gesù where the clashes took place at the stadium. Protected by a police cordon, the Eintracht supporters are directed for the moment towards the area of ​​via Medina. During the passage, the buses in via Monteoliveto were subjected to throwing stones and bottles by Neapolitan ultras crowded along the road.

Behind the departing buses, the picture is shocking: cars on fire, rubbish in the street, bins overturned on the paving stones shiny with rain, frightened people and traders who have temporarily closed their businesses. A helicopter flies over the area from via Calata to Trinità Maggiore, the road linking piazza del Gesù, the Decimani and via Toledo. At the end of the clashes a gun was also found: it would be that of a policeman attacked by a group of troublemakers. It ended up on the ground during the scuffle and was immediately recovered by a colleague of the agent. Again according to what has been possible to learn, during the clashes several policemen were injured, albeit not seriously.

A police cordon closed off the area around two hotels on the seafront, the Royal and the Vesuvius with trucks and fire hydrants: the German fans and the team are housed there. Hundreds of German supporters are now waiting silently in front of the hotels. Almost all of them do not have tickets and cannot enter the stadium, but they arrived in Naples last night anyway.

A driver of the ANM (public transport company of the Municipality of Naples) suffered injuries to his eye while driving a bus carrying Eintracht fans. He was hit by fragments of glass broken by the throwing of an object against the vehicle: he was transported to the Vecchio Pellegrini hospital for checks.

A trip that began with violence
Although there are just 400 supporters from Frankfurt, there are scenes of ordinary madness in the Campania capital. Already yesterday evening the ANM buses carrying German fans towards the Continental hotel were attacked: bottles and stones were thrown at the buses which were escorted by both the police and the carabinieri, fortunately without any type of physical consequences.

The mayor of Naples meets the German ambassador
The mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, speaks of “crazy and unacceptable devastation”. He adds: «We strongly condemn the unspeakable acts of those who have become the protagonists of this violence, from wherever it has come. Naples and the Neapolitans do not deserve to suffer the serious material, moral and image damage that this madness has caused. Relations with Germany have historically been marked by friendship and I wanted to meet the German ambassador in Italy, Viktor Elbling, at Palazzo San Giacomo, to condemn the acts of violence together and reaffirm the strong bond between Naples and Germany”.

Political reactions
«All my solidarity with the police and the city of Naples for these serious episodes of violence – writes the deputy prime minister and foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Twitter -. The ban on ticket sales to Eintracht Frankfurt fans was not a discriminatory act. I hope these criminals are brought to justice.” The deputy leader of the Democratic Party in the Chamber, Piero De Luca, and the deputy Marco Sarracino, speak of an “unacceptable situation”: “A city hostage to violent people who are endangering the safety of citizens and the forces of order, to whom we send our full solidarity. We invite Minister Piantedosi to report to Parliament to clarify what happened and what didn’t work».

“Full support to the police forces who are currently facing the criminal fury of Eintracht Frankfurt fans who have arrived in the Campania capital” comes from the Campania deputy of the League, Gianpiero Zinzi. “Solidarity to Naples and to the Neapolitans who have witnessed the brutality and violence of these criminals”. The League is asking Germany to pay for the damages of the destruction.

«Naples set on fire by German fans is a wound – affirms the group leader of the Green and Left Alliance, Peppe De Cristofaro, president of the Mixed group of the Senate -. It is necessary immediately to understand what are the responsibilities of a villainous management of public order. The Prefect and the Quaestor of Naples should resign. But above all it is necessary to understand the reason why the Viminale had first banned the sale for the entire guest sector, then the TAR of Campania canceled the provision freeing up the sale of coupons and then a decision was made halfway: sale yes, but only to the non-Frankfurt Germans. Interior Minister Piantedosi must come to Parliament to report on what happened today in Naples, on why the transfer of the Germans was blocked and on the wicked and bankruptcy management of public order in the city».

«The images arriving from Naples of the clashes between the police and the Eintracht vandals are shameful – the M5 MEP, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, also claims on social media -: our police forces must be put in a position to operate: a lot of football cannot become an urban warfare. Piantedosi refer to the Chamber, it is unacceptable ». The urban warfare in Naples, “widely predictable with the arrival of the German ultras, has produced enormous damage in the city center and a very high danger to people’s safety”, writes Luigi de Magistris, former mayor, on Twitter. “It is unacceptable what has happened and that has not been able to avoid.”

The location of Berlin
«This violence, tonight, must be condemned in the most absolute way. Violent people and hooligans destroy sport,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wrote on Twitter.

Police sources: “The ban on ticket sales is justified”
The incidents that are taking place in Naples demonstrate that “the ban on the sale of tickets to Eintracht fans was justified”, underlining police sources, reiterating that the Italian security apparatuses had “full knowledge of the dangerousness” of the German ultras and the risk of clashes with local ones, so much so that the measure was renewed after the decision to suspend the TAR despite some claiming it was a “discriminatory act” by Italy. The sources underline that there were high risks and that they were known, “this is also demonstrated by the decision to deploy a thousand men on the street, something that hadn’t been recorded for some time, so that it was possible to prevent, on several occasions, the two opposing fan bases come into contact. The German fans, the police sources conclude, “arrived in Naples as tourists from an EU country – therefore they could not be blocked – and this despite the fact that it was also clear in Germany that they could not enter the stadium and that their presence could cause accidents. Clashes that promptly took place and which also saw local ultras as protagonists ».

The tabloid Bild: “Eintracht fans vandalize Naples”
Shame on the Champions League in Naples, writes the German tabloid picture, recounting the clashes caused by the Eintracht fans “who together with the Atalanta hooligans created a scandal” before the match. Bild extensively reports on hooliganism, attacks on the police and downtown premises. The tabloid publishes a video in which the voices of bewildered Neapolitans are heard as they observe what is happening on the street: the title is «The scandal scenes. How Frankfurt fans vandalize the city of Naples». The news can be found on the websites of major German media, including Faz, Sz And Die Welt.

The criticisms of UEFA
The president of UEFA, Aleksander Ceferin, has criticized Italy’s choice not to allow Frankfurt fans to reach Naples (except for the 400, all searched and identified upon arrival, who were allowed to travel) . Luciano Spalletti also intervened on the matter: «It is not possible for the Italian authorities to decide that German fans are not allowed. The decision of the authorities is absolutely wrong. We urgently need to do something, we will change the rules.”

«We didn’t make this decision – Spalletti points out –. In the first leg in Germany, the safety of our fans was not guaranteed and for this reason measures were taken for the return match,” said the blue coach who hopes he will be able to win the match against Maradona with Napoli the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in its history, can really be just an evening of celebration.