ROME - Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino has formally requested that Poland release the 22 Italians still detained in Warsaw who took part in a riot during the Lazio-Legia football match.

 

After disorder broke out during the Europa League match between Lazio and Legia on Thursday, police arrested 149 people. Though the majority have already been released, 22 Italians still remain in police custody and are facing charges of holding a seditious assembly and assaulting a public officer.

 

Some of the Lazio fans who have already been released from custody have told the Italian ambassador that they were "treated very badly" in the Warsaw jail, adding that they were given "very little food and water."

 

Now, Deputy Foreign Minister Marta Dassù has spoken out on the matter. She has stated that Italy has expressed "firm condemnation of all acts of hooliganism," but that the government "expects that Poland, a friend and partner, protects our countrymen."

 

"Foreign Minister Emma Bonino had a meeting with her Polish counterpart and has formally requested the release of all Italians held in Warsaw and has asked for clarification on the matter," added Minister Dassù.