Juventus draws, Fiorentina loses after Lazio fan killed

(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-13 09:07

ROME - Juventus rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Parma on Sunday as Italian soccer was thrown into disarray by the accidental killing of a Lazio fan.

Udinese beat Fiorentina 2-1 to hand the Viola their first loss of the season.


Inter Milan and Lazio's supporters demonstrate in front of a police station in Milan November 11, 2007. A soccer fan was killed during clashes between supporters of rival clubs in Italy on Sunday, police said. The clashes erupted at a motorway restaurant near the Tuscan city of Arezzo. [Agencies] 

A police officer accidentally shot and killed a Lazio fan while trying to quell a clash with Juventus supporters at a highway rest stop in Tuscany, a police chief said.

"We're sportsmen and they always says we've got to think about sports, but someone died today," Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri said. "It's sad for everyone, for relatives of the victim, and for all of soccer."

The victim was identified as Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old disc jockey from Rome. He was traveling to Lazio's match at Serie A leader Inter Milan.

The Italian soccer federation postponed the Inter-Lazio game to a date to be determined. Sunday's other games were ordered to start 10 minutes late, with players and referees wearing black armbands.

The death prompted clashes between fans and police in Bergamo, where AC Milan was playing Atalanta. The match was suspended after seven minutes when Atalanta fans tried to break through a barrier and storm their way onto the field. It will be rescheduled at a date to be determined.

Atalanta captain Cristiano Doni went over to try to calm the fans but to no avail, and both teams headed into the locker room.

The Sunday night game between AS Roma and Cagliari in the capital was also postponed.

Fans at other stadiums took down their usual banners, and Torino fans entered the stadium late as a sign of mourning in a 1-1 draw with 10-man Catania.

Parma fans displayed only one banner, which read: "Death is equal for everyone."

When Nicola Amoruso scored in Reggina's 2-0 win over Genoa _ Reggina's first victory of the season -- he did not celebrate.

Also Sunday, Livorno beat Siena 3-2.

On Saturday, Palermo beat Napoli 2-1 and Sampdoria routed Empoli 3-0.

Parma took a 2-0 lead over Juventus with a penalty from Andrea Gasbarroni in the 43rd minute and another score by Andrea Pisanu in the 57th. Juventus rallied with goals from Nicola Legrottaglie in the 71st and Vincenzo Iaquinta in the 82nd.

"In the locker room, the feeling was different," Ranieri said. "It didn't feel like an important game. Everyone was asking if it was right to play or not."

Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini was expelled for fouling Domenico Morfeo in the 78th and Morfeo was sent off for reacting.

Parma ended with nine men when Ferdinando Coly was shown a red card for fouling Cristiano Zanetti in added time.

Italy forwards Fabio Quagliarella and Antonio Di Natale scored for Udinese at Florence, while all Fiorentina could produce was a goal from Giampaolo Pazzini. The Viola entered the game on a 21-match unbeaten streak in all competitions stretching back to last season.

Fiorentina defender Manuel Pasqual was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul in the 83rd.

Inter leads the league with 25 points. Fiorentina is next with 23 points, and Juventus, Roma and Udinese are tied for third with 22 points each.

 



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