Eight arrested after Champions League violence in Naples

Three German football fans and five locals were arrested following clashes with police in Naples before and after Napoli’s Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt, a local official said Thursday.

The eight were later banned from the Naples stadium for between five and eight years, police said.

Six police officers were injured in the violence on Wednesday evening, according to Alessandro Giuliano, who is responsible for public safety in the southern Italian city.

The first clashes occurred in the historic centre in the afternoon, and continued after the match, an easy 3-0 win for Napoli which took them through to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.

Smoke bombs and flares, chairs, bottles and metal poles were thrown at police, who responded with tear gas. Later, Napoli fans were filmed by Italian media throwing objects at buses carrying Eintracht fans.

Police were in the process of identifying 470 German fans who stayed in the city, and were scouring images to establish those responsible for the disorder, Giuliano told a press conference.

Dozens of supporters of Atalanta, who have a history of conflict with Napoli fans, joined forces with supporters of the German side.

Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi condemned the “unacceptable” violence, while opposition politicians have questioned the government’s handling of the situation, notably by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.

Napoli player Juan Jesus said the disorder was “bad for the city, and bad for soccer”.

“Because people come, then destroy, then leave, it’s not a good thing. It’s not possible to still see this in 2023, we are sorry to see these scenes,” he said.