Juventus' Cup trip to Fiorentina mared by fans turbulence
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-02 14:34

Juventus' Italian Cup tie away to Fiorentina has been mared by fans turbulence outside the ground as the League leaders came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.

Juventus' fans celebrate the victory of their team in an Italian Serie A League game in May 2005. Fiorentina and Juventus players were forced off the pitch at the start of the second half of their Italian Cup tie here after police fired tear gas to disperse groups of rival supporters. [AFP]

Tear gas was fired by police outside the Stadio Franchi in Florence following violent clashes between fans and police, two minutes into the second half of the Fiorentina-Juventus match.

When the incident began, spectators left the stands and referee Luca Palanca stopped the game and sent the players back to the dressing rooms. Play resumed 20 minutes later.

The fourth-round first-leg tie in Italian Cup saw both side without some regular first-team players. Fiorentina left Serie A top scorer Luca Toni on the bench while Juventus rested first-choice strike partnership of David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Fiorentina's Valeri Bojinov opened the scoring for the home side in the 38th minute, bringing down Tomas Ujfalusi's cross and volleying crisply past keeper Gianluigi Buffon who was playing his first game after a three-month injury layoff.

Striker Giampaolo Pazzini doubled the home side's lead in the 50th minute, catching Juve's defence cold to beat the offside trap and slip the ball in at Buffon's near post.

Juve replied three minutes later when midfielder Patrick Vieira teed up an inviting ball on the edge of the area that Gianluca Pessotto thumped past keeper Sebastian Frey.

The visitors equalised in the 69th minute when an Adrian Mutu cross curled over the top of Frey and bounced in off the far post.