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Atletico to issue life ban to any members involved in street fight

Atletico Madrid said it will issue lifetime stadium bans to all club members identified by police as having been involved in violence that unfolded around the Calderon on Sunday ahead of the club's match against Deportivo La Coruna.

The executive committees of La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation will convene on Thursday to discuss the running street battles between rival ultra groups that resulted in injuries to numerous fans as well as the death of a 43-year-old, said the head the Spanish Sport's Council, Miguel Cardenal.

Spain's sports authorities held an emergency meeting on Monday to consider "opportune measures so that this doesn't happen again in the future,'' Cardenal said.

"This date marks a before and after,'' said Cardenal, who said that authorities are considering several measures, including the closing of sections of stadiums regularly used by radical groups.

Cardenal said both he and Spain's secretary of state for security, Francisco Martinez, would appear before parliament soon.

#INSERT type:image caption:Spain mourned the violence around the Calderon on Sunday ahead of Atletico-Deportivo La Coruna. END#

Atletico's chief operating officer, Clemente Villaverde, has asked Martinez to furnish him with the names of those identified by the police and, if they are members of the club, they will be expelled with immediate effect. If they are not already registered as club members, they will be prevented from doing so.

"We will never let them become members of Atletico," Villaverde said.

The fatal fight was condemned by Deportivo and Atletico, the Spanish league and football federation, and other clubs, players and coaches.

"It's a sad day for football because all of us who work for football hope that this never happens,'' Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "I have the experience of England, which has done many things to eliminate this scourge. England had a terrible experience with hooligans, and thanks to the work of everyone and some very strict rules they have gotten rid of it.''

The fight broke out on Sunday morning near Atletico's Vicente Calderon Stadium when groups of men battled along the banks of the Manzanares River.

Emergency services rescued Romero from the river and initially resuscitated him before transferring him to the hospital where he died hours later.

Eleven more people received minor injuries in the fight, including one police officer who had a broken finger.

Martinez said that some 200 people took part in the fight, 90 of whom have now been identified. A total of 21 arrests were made and of those detained, six are associated with the Frente Atletico ultra group. The police are still working to identify the remainder of the people involved in the mass brawl.

Cardenal told reporters: "It has been proposed that we draw up a list of all of the ultra groups to expel them from stadiums and to set out a time frame to do so. The proposals that have been put forward have come from the clubs and they are under no doubt that they will achieve this. It is a path that some clubs have already taken and this commitment is full and conclusive and I am convinced it will be effective. There are many criminal databases but we are talking about creating an official list upon which these measures will be taken. We have up-to-date laws, but this requires praxis."

The secretary of state also explained that a partial closure of stands inside stadiums would also take place, in line with practices exercised in other European leagues and by UEFA. Cardenal noted that there was a precedent from this season, when Serbia were ordered to play behind closed doors after unrest during a European Championship qualifier against Albania.

Cardenal added that further efforts would be made to tackle verbal abuse in stadiums.

"This has been a very real concern highlighted by the CSD [Sports Council] for some time. There have been communiques over the past two years urging clubs and referees to identify perpetrators because if they are not, it cannot be eradicated. The CSD installed a direct line so that people can report any racist or xenophobic behaviour."

Of the fatal clashes between rival ultra factions near the Calderon on Sunday, Cardenal admitted there had been a raft of tickets that had not been issued through proper channels, and which the Riazor Blues ultras involved in the street battle may have obtained.

"An envelope full of tickets has come to light that the police had no knowledge of. These tickets were not monitored."

Information from The Associated Press and AS was used in this report.