- News
- Editorials
- Live
- Transfer Zone
- Clubs
-
Europe
- Europe Home
- Europe News
- England Home
- England Table/Results
- Italy Home
- Italy Table/Results
- Spain Home
- Spain Table/Results
- Germany Home
- Germany Table/Results
- Champions League Home
- CL Fixtures/Results
- Europa League Home
- EL Fixtures/Results
- Rest of Europe Home
- Rest of Europe News
- World Cup 2014 News
- World Cup 2014 Fixtures/Results
- Asia
- Goal Rich List 2013
- Americas
- Champions League
- Europa League
- World Cup
- Video
|
|
Italian football federation chief apologises to FA following violence towards Tottenham fans
Giancarlo Abete offered support into any investigations via a letter, while also expressing disappointment that football gave "mindless thugs" a stage for their views
| Bet: | Returns: | Roma £23.00 | Draw £34.00 | Lazio £30.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Roma £22.00 | Draw £33.00 | Lazio £30.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Roma £23.00 | Draw £33.00 | Lazio £30.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Roma £23.00 | Draw £34.00 | Lazio £30.00 |
|
Spurs drew 0-0 with the Serie A side, however it was off-the-field incidents that grabbed the headlines with reports that 50 masked hooligans launched an organised assault on a bar containing followers of the north London outfit in the early hours of Thursday.
Two Italians, believed to be fans of Lazio's rivals Roma, have since been charged with attempted murder after the attack left 11 people injured. Further reports from the match itself indicate home fans chanted "Juden Tottenham", which means "Tottenham Jews" in German, as an attack on Spurs' Jewish roots.
Abete has condemned the abuse and violence in a letter to Football Association chairman David Bernstein, as well as apologising and giving his support to the investigation.
He wrote: "I have already had the opportunity to publicly express my condemnation and outrage at what has happened.
"We would like to extend our apologies to all of the Tottenham fans and, in particular, to the families of the people involved.
"We are following the investigation closely and remain at the disposal of the authorities to help take this case forward."
The letter comes after the FA announced its intention to present Uefa a report from a crowd control advisor that witnessed the clash on Thursday evening, following the "alarming" reports of anti-Semitic chants.
Abete continued by indicating his belief that the attacks were indeed religion-motivated, and by highlighting his disappointment that football has given those guilty a stage for their extremist views.
"Once again, unfortunately, football has been used as a vehicle by mindless thugs to express their racist and anti-Semitic views," he added.
"This was unquestionably the motive behind this attack, which has damaged the image of our football and does not reflect the real tradition of warmth and hospitality in the city of Rome."
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up to Paddy Power for £250 in free bets |
|
| Sign up today with Coral and get a £50 FREE bet - no strings attached! |
|
| Sign up today with BetVictor and get a £25 FREE BET! |
|
Related Stories
Make Your Prediction
Roma - Lazio
Prediction Submitted
Most Popular Predictions
-
Roma 2-1 Lazio
- 17.96 %
-
Roma 3-1 Lazio
- 13.03 %
-
Roma 2-0 Lazio
- 10.04 %
-
Bayern's jinx - CL final referee Nicola Rizzoli
Goal takes a look at the career of the Italian arbiter to date following Uefa's decision to appoint the 41-year-old for Saturday's showpiece at Wembley
-
Goal's Serie A awards for 2012-13
Goal crowns the best and worst from Italy over the course of the season
-
Now or never for Wenger to seal legacy
The Gunners sealed a place in next season's Champions League with victory at Newcastle on Sunday - and must now spend money to improve the squad over the summer
-
And Goal.com's World Player of the Week is ...
Check out which star man gets the nod from our panel of experts this week ...
-
Milan failings laid bare on dramatic day
The Rossoneri clinched third spot in dramatic fashion in Siena on Sunday but still have a long way to go to get to where they need to be
