26-year-old Riccardo Claris, a fan of Italian Serie A team Atalanta, was stabbed to death during clashes with Inter Milan supporters in the northern city of Bergamo, Italian police confirmed on Sunday.
The Atalanta and Inter fans got into an argument in a pub in Bergamo on Saturday night after one of the Inter supporters chanted provocatively, a senior police official told Reuters. The confrontation then continued in a street near the Atalanta stadium and escalated into violence when an Inter supporter stabbed the Atalanta fan. Emergency services arrived swiftly but were unable to save the victim's life.
It marked a troubling continuation of fan violence in Italy, where last month 13 police officers were injured during clashes between AS Roma and Lazio supporters ahead of the Rome derby.
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A boy in his late teens had been arrested and said he acted to protect his brother, Beringheli said. Atalanta fans unfurled a banner at the start of their 4-0 Serie A win at Monza on Sunday in memory of the murdered fan. "What happened to our fan must never happen again", Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini said in a press conference after the match. There was no official comment from the club on the incident.
In 2023, a Paris St Germain supporter was seriously injured in Italy after being stabbed during clashes between fans ahead of a Champions League match against AC Milan. Same year, a 58-year-old Newcastle United fan was hospitalised after being stabbed in Milan by hooded attackers on the eve of another Champions League game.
