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Frosinone fans warned about watching games at Matusa on balconies

Police in Frosinone are to send a letter to the owners and administrators of around 10 apartment blocks surrounding the Stadio Matusa, warning them that the presence of fans on the balconies overlooking the pitch are creating a safety risk.

The Matusa has a capacity of under 10,000 and it is likely to be full for all of the club's fixtures in Serie A this season. However, it is surrounded by numerous apartment blocks which offer a perfect view of the entire field of play.

Hundreds of spectators were congregated on the many balconies to see Frosinone's 1-0 derby defeat to Roma at the weekend, but the local authorities would like to issue a ban.

The fear is not that the club is being left out of pocket due to unsold tickets and fans being able to watch the games for free, but that the balconies could collapse under the weight of the spectators.

"The presence of numerous fans on the balconies and rooftops of the buildings surrounding the sporting arena," read a statement from the local prefecture, published by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Therefore, we are to issue warnings to the administrators of those structures to prevent that the large numbers of spectators could put public safety at risk due to possible structural collapses, while making the owners of the apartments aware that they must limit the number of people present on their [balconies]."

It has long since been a tradition in the city for fans to dine together at lunchtime and then move onto the balcony to watch the afternoon's action.

Visiting fans have also been known to knock on the doors of the flats to try to get to see the game, especially in view of the limited numbers of visiting spectators allowed at the stadium. Last weekend, 2,000 tickets were on sale to Roma fans.