Rate it!

1 votes

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has vowed to emulate the English in his war against football hooliganism in Italy.

Serie A's reputation has been dragged through the mud in recent years, with a Lazio supporter and a policeman killed in separate incidents last season.

Last weekend saw another flare-up in Naples, with hundreds of Napoli supporters wreaking havoc at the city's train station before travelling to Rome, trouble that was even blamed on the Mafia.

"The state will return to being the state," Berlusconi, who is also the Milan owner, warned. "With those who mistake support [of their team] with vandalism, we will have no tolerance.

"Its disappointing that the actions of a minority have tarnished the image of Napoli.

"In the last couple of days, I have been looking into several measures taken by the English against this phenomenon."

Proposed punishments include home matches being played behind closed doors, with Napoli's fans already banned from away matches for the rest of the campaign.

The southern club's president, Aurelio de Laurentiis, still believes that the authorities are being heavy-handed and feels that a supporter ban would be counter-productive.

"Such punishment would be unfair for the club and for the honest supporters," he claimed.

Reda Maher / Eurosport