The Champions League last-16 second-leg tie between Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt was marred by violence as visiting fans clashed with police in ugly scenes in Naples before the game.
Over 600 Frankfurt fans are believed to have descended on the Italian city despite being barred from attending the second leg after unsavoury incidents between supporters occurred before the first game in Germany last month.
A police car and other vehicles were set alight as supporters threw flares. Other missiles including chairs were launched as the trouble intensified with innocent bystanders forced to take refuge in bars and restaurants.
Police in riot gear eventually managed to calm the situation, shepherding the fans onto buses to take them to their hotels.
𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗜 𝗘 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗔 𝗔 𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜
— Sportitalia (@tvdellosport) March 15, 2023
Le immagini che arrivano live da piazza del Gesù a Napoli.
Gli ultras tedeschi stanno danneggiato diversi mezzi delle forze dell'ordine. La tensione resta altissima in attesa del calcio d'inizio.#Napoli #Sportitalia pic.twitter.com/3S9v7rosbC
Further clashes were avoided as the majority of Napoli “ultras” were stopped from coming into contact with the German fans, although they did throw stones and bottles at the buses.
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, wrote on Instagram: “These are not fans, they are criminals, thugs. I wonder if they would make the same mess in Germany?”
Police had been on high alert in the Italian city — around 800 officers had been deployed — as fans arrived from Germany despite Frankfurt forgoing its allocation of tickets for the last-16 match in protest.
That number was boosted further by Atalanta ultras, who have a bitter rivalry with Napoli stretching back decades.
The German club was objecting to a decision by local authorities in Naples banning any fans who are residents of Frankfurt from buying tickets, following unrest between supporters during the first leg in Germany.
Napoli won that match 2-0 but local police made several arrests in the buildup amid altercations between fans.
Napoli defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo pleaded for calm on the eve of the game, saying: “We must all try to have a good day without disorder or quarrels with whoever arrives in the city. Not only at the stadium but in the streets, in the squares, everywhere.
“As your captain, I ask you not to fall into provocations. Let’s try to make tomorrow a day of celebration.”
According to BT Sport, the away end in the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium is vacant after Frankfurt refused to take up any of their 2,700 ticket allocations.
Reporting by the Associated Press in Naples
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