Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 6y

Naples police chief condemns attack on Manchester City fans

The head of the Naples police department has condemned a group of Napoli ultras who attacked Manchester City fans in a pizzeria on Tuesday night.

Three people -- including the owner of the pizzeria, who had tried to defend the English fans -- were injured in the attack.

"There was a serious incident last night, a result of violence by a criminal group who attacked and injured also a Neapolitan, fracturing his nose," Naples police chief Antonio De Iesu told Radio CRC. "At around 22:00, three City fans were attacked by a group of people who we are trying to identify.

"The City fans sought refuge inside a pizzeria, where this aggressive attack took place, and which also saw one of the waiters -- a Neapolitan worker -- victim of a particularly violent attack, and these acts taint the reputation of Napoli fans, particularly because there was no motivation behind it.

"It's absurd to imagine such an aggressive act and we will do all we possibly can to identify the attackers because this incident cannot remain unpunished."

Chelsea fans were subject to a similar attack in a pub in Rome on Monday night, ahead of their team's Champions League defeat against Roma.

Meanwhile, after it had been reported in the English media that City fans had been told they could not wear belts in the Stadio San Paolo, Iesu said that these were not measures aimed specifically at English fans but rather general rules that apply in all Italian stadia.

Only large and dangerous belt buckles are not permitted, and Iesu said: "City fans are not going to have their trousers falling down."

He added: "These checks at the entrance to the stadium are there to ensure that material which could be used to attack people are not permitted, and we do this for every club, but I'm not aware of anything specific about belts."

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