According to media reports, eleven German football fans were arrested after riots before 1. FC Union Berlin’s Champions League game at SSC Napoli. During the night there were serious clashes between supporters of the Bundesliga soccer team and the police, as the Italian media consistently reported.
Several police officers were injured in the riots. Fans of Borussia Mönchengladbach, who are considered Napoli’s arch rivals, also mingled with the Union supporters, the Ansa news agency reported, citing the police.
The Germans threw smoke bombs and firecrackers. Some streets around the central Piazza Dante were blocked by them. Garbage cans and other larger objects were tipped over by them. Shops were also vandalized during the riots.
Police increase presence
“The clashes with the emergency services were really sought after by the German fans,” Ansa quoted Naples police chief Maurizio Agricola as saying. The police are now increasing their presence at the game in the evening to prevent further incidents.
Union Berlin asked its fans before the game in the Champions League on Wednesday evening (6.45 p.m./DAZN), for example, to forego their fan clothing outside the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. They should also “avoid remote areas of the city of Naples,” said the Unioner in a message to their fans. Napoli and the local security authorities had already pointed out the potential risk for football fans.
The majority of Union fans – around 2,500 have tickets for the game – probably didn’t want to make the trip until the match day itself. According to the Eiserner Virus fan club, the trip was planned by plane to Rome and from there by bus to Naples. They said they wanted to avoid staying in the city at all costs.
There had already been serious riots by Eintracht Frankfurt fans in Naples in March. At that time, the sale of tickets to fans living in Frankfurt was prohibited, but many supporters still traveled to Naples.
