The street battle in Naples overshadows the elimination of Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League. Demands for reappraisal and consequences are becoming louder, the first figures are known.
Still under control: Eintracht Frankfurt supporters at the fan march through Naples
When the Eintracht Frankfurt supporters had left Naples, the full extent of the brutal street battles became apparent. In the narrow streets of the historic old town, local owners and residents were just removing the first traces of total devastation on Thursday morning when calls for drastic consequences increased.
court case? Compensation by German authorities? Draconian penalties for violent fans? However, Oliver Glasner did not want to take part in this discussion after being eliminated from the Champions League.
“I'm a coach and fortunately not a politician,” he said, referring to the consequences of the serious riots around the 3-0 defeat in the round of 16 second leg at SSC Napoli. The Austrian condemned “any form of violence and crime, no matter where in the world”.
But the clashes between Eintracht supporters and Naples fans with the police had long since become a political issue. “I hope these criminals will be brought to justice,” said Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The right-wing governing party Lega led by Matteo Salvini even made demands on the German government. This should “pay for the damage”.
Horrifying pictures
Eintracht board member Philipp Reschke strongly condemned the violence in the streets of Naples. “I very much regret these incidents, because they not only harm us and football, but above all they damage the common cause with which we actually started here to fight for the rights of the fans,” said Reschke in an interview to Hessischer Rundfunk on Thursday: “Of course, that thing set us back enormously.”
First escalations: The riot police and Eintracht supporters clash
Eintracht also promised to deal with the incidents in which, according to the police, eight people, including three Eintracht fans, were arrested and six security forces were injured. They are preparing for a “long process”, according to Reschke: “It is clear that things cannot continue in this form.”
Pictures from downtown Naples on Wednesday afternoon showed wild hunting scenes between hooded supporters and the police. Cars burned, firecrackers and chairs flew through the air. According to Italian media, the situation in the Piazza del Gesu escalated when Frankfurt fans and the police were attacked by Naples fans. Even after the game, there were clashes between Napoli supporters and the security forces around the hotel of the SGE Ultras.
Silence and finger pointing
The departure of the German fans did not begin until early Thursday: 120 identified supporters left Italy via Rome Fiumicino Airport, another 350 were initially longer in the police station in the city of Salerno for identification. Investigations are ongoing.
Criticism was also sparked by the actions of the Italian authorities, who, after a legal stalemate, had banned the sale of tickets to people residing in Frankfurt am Main. “These decrees are useless,” said Reschke. Captain Sebastian Rode said Napoli “did themselves a disservice by shutting out our fans”. And Djibril Sow spoke of a “kindergarten”.
Serious consequences: restaurants are destroyed, a police car burns from
The European Football Union (UEFA) has already announced rule changes for the recurrence of such a fan exclusion. However, Aleksander Ceferin's reaction to the Italians' controversial actions only came on the eve of the game – the UEFA boss had previously remained silent.
ck/asz (sid)