Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Daniele De Rossi criticises security after Italy vs. Croatia firework trouble

Daniele De Rossi says something must be done to clamp down on fans bringing fireworks and flares into stadiums after Italy's 1-1 draw with Croatia in Milan was disrupted on Sunday evening.

Azzurri midfielder De Rossi could only look on when, for the second time in the game, flares rained down onto the field from the areas of the stadium occupied by Croatia fans. Referee Bjorn Kuipers halted the game and, when the situation deteriorated, ordered the players to leave the field of play.

De Rossi, who was only in the stands at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa four years ago because of injury when Italy's game against Serbia was abandoned due to crowd trouble, was critical of the stadium security ahead of this latest incident.

"It certainly wasn't pretty," De Rossi said at the San Siro. "It was a fair game on the field and the only time play was stopped was because of them.

"Unfortunately, it seems you can bring anything into stadiums nowadays and I really don't know why." 

Around 6,000 Croatia fans descended on Milan with a cordial atmosphere outside the stadium. However, with such a large number of visiting supporters all arriving at the gates at the same time, the usual individual body searches, like in Genoa four years ago, were ignored so as to get the fans into the ground as quickly as possible.

Croatian reporters at the stadium told ESPN FC that fans of rival clubs Hadjuk Split and Dinamo Zagreb, both occupying different corners of the stadium, were responsible for causing the disruption. Ivan Perisic scored a 15th-minute equaliser, with the restart delayed, and then things worsened in the 75th minute.

UEFA will open an investigation upon receiving the referee's and delegate's report into the incidents with sanctions ranging from a fine, to a stadium closure and also to the deduction of points.

Serbia were recently awarded a 3-0 win against Albania after a drone carrying a political message forced their Euro 2016 qualifier to be abandoned. Serbia were also docked three points, though, for failing to control their fans.

The Italian football federation (FIGC) can therefore also expect some kind of sanctions while Croatia coach Niko Kovac issued an apology for the scenes in front of 63,000-strong crowd which included a significant contingent of families with children.

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