Football match abandoned after fans threatened players with death

About 30 fans of the southern club Nocerina have been identified for allegedly issuing death threats.

A prosecutor has opened an inquiry into the events surrounding Sunday’s Salernitana-Nocerina match. The area near Naples where the two clubs are from is infested by the Camorra crime syndicate.

Because of a history of tension between the two clubs, supporters for Nocerina were banned from the stadium and they responded by making sure the match was suspended.

The hard-core “ultra” fans surrounded Nocerina’s bus and allegedly threatened to kill the team if they played.

Nocerina responded by using all three of its substitutions after two minutes and five players then appeared to fake injuries, leaving the club with only six men and forcing the referee to stop the match after 21 minutes.

Fans even hired a plane to fly over the stadium with a banner that said, “Respect for Nocera and the ultras”.

Nocerina’s “ultra” fans issued a statement saying that they did not issue any death threats. Rather, they said they only wanted to give an “unmistakable message” and “give voice to an unfair act imposed on the fans”.

Nearly 9,000 fans attended the match and some asked for their money back. There have been calls for Nocerina to be kicked out of the Lega Pro league.

Italian football has been marred by racism, territorial chants and fan violence for years. Already this season a handful of Serie A clubs have had portions of their stadiums closed through bad behaviour.