Napoli ultras arrested in Eindhoven ahead of Champions League match

 ROME – Dutch police have arrested 180 Napoli fans in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, due to disorrderly behaviour ahead of Napoli’s clash with PSV on Tuesday in the UEFA Champions League, Dutch police said. This comes a day after three men were arrested for killing a bus driver after attacking a rival basketball team’s bus with stones and bricks, raising the question of sports hooliganism culture in Italy.

 The Napoli ultras allegedly breached a security zone in the city centre and refused to leave after being asked by police. Although police reports do not indicate any violence, they cited the fact the crowd was in breach of municipal regulations on large gatherings and that the ultras had “a certain atmosphere.” Police reports also suggested onsite tensions between Napoli and PSV fans, saying that the Napoli fans were arrested to prevent an outbreak of violence.

 The 180 fans have been taken to the police station for questioning and have had their match tickets cancelled. Dutch police said that some of the arrested Napoli fans did not have tickets for the match. Four home supporters were also arrested.

 Napoli were allocated 1600 tickets for Tuesday’s match, with the match being designated as “high-risk” by the Eindhoven police. Although the tickets sold out, there are expected to be more Napoli ultras present in the city without tickets.

 Italian sports hooliganism has come to the forefront in the last week, after basketball ultras killed a rival team’s bus driver on Sunday evening. Three men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, named as Manuel Fortuna, Kevin Pellecchia and Alessandro Barberini.

 La Repubblica reported that all three suspects posted photos of “Mussolini and fascist iconography” on their social media, raising the question of the link between far-right politics and sports hooliganism, especially in Italy, with ultras often linked to incidents of violence, hate speech and extremism.

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