Supporters of the German football club Eintracht Frankfurt caused serious disturbances in the center of the Italian city of Naples on Wednesday. Heavy damage was done to shops and restaurants and a police car was set on fire, among other things. Various Italian media speak of “a guerrilla war in the heart of Naples”.
The Neapolitan football club Napoli will compete against Eintracht Frankfurt in the eighth final of the Champions League on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m. Riots broke out between supporters of the two clubs around the first match, which was played in Germany, after which the authorities in Naples decided not to allow German football fans to attend Wednesday’s match. Nevertheless, an estimated six hundred Germans came to Naples, assisted by supporters of the Italian football club Atalanta Bergamo.
A large part of these fans caused unrest in the Italian city on Wednesday. Cars, patio chairs and tables were destroyed and the massively present riot police were bombarded with fireworks and smoke bombs. There would also have been looting of shops and restaurants and the police present used tear gas several times to disperse the football fans. Additional agents have been called in from the Naples area to prevent Napoli fans from coming into direct confrontation with the Frankfurt fans.
3-0 for Napoli
Gaetano Manfredi, the mayor of Naples, mentions the situation on Twitter “an unacceptable climate of guerrilla warfare” and Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called German supporters “thugs” in a social media post. “I wonder if they would make the same mess in Germany?” Salvini writes.
The riots preceded the duel. Napoli eventually won the round of 16 against Frankfurt 3-0. Two goals were scored by Victor Osimhen and one by Piotr Zieliński. With this, the Italian team qualifies for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time. At the same time, the match between Liverpool and Real Madrid was also played. The English were unable to make up for the 5-2 deficit after last week’s game. Real won 1-0.