© EuroFootball.com
Two outbreaks of violence in football in Italy over the same number of weeks scare the fans and deter the organizers of major tournaments, "Reuters" writes.
Last week, the European Championship qualifying match in Genoa between Italy and Serbia was interrupted because Italian officials failed to control the raging Serbian hooligans.
Moreover, incidents were not avoided during the European League match in Naples between "Napoli" and "Liverpool" - even three visiting fans ended up in the hospital after being attacked by armed criminals with knives.
Italy has made great efforts to reduce the level of violence after the 2007 tragedy, when a police officer was killed during riots. However, the country was not trusted to host the 2012 and 2016 European Championships, and one of the reasons for such a decision was the questionable level of security.
"A safe environment is an extremely important criterion. Italy will not host any tournament for a long time," predicted Patrick Nally, one of the founders of the sports marketing firm "West Nally". "This is a problem that needs to be solved."
The Serbian federation criticized the Italians for the police's actions in calming the fans. It is said that officials from both countries failed to cooperate properly in preparing for the match, although they should have anticipated possible unrest.
UEFA will also investigate the events in Genoa.
