By Gianluca Semeraro and Tommy Lund
MILAN (Reuters) -A 26-year-old fan of Italian Serie A team Atalanta was stabbed to death during clashes between Atalanta and Inter Milan supporters in the northern city of Bergamo, media reported on Sunday.
It marked a troubling continuation of fan violence in Italy, where last month 13 police officers were injured during clashes between AS Roma and Lazio supporters ahead of the Rome derby.
Italy’s Carabinieri police confirmed that a man had been stabbed to death in Bergamo and a suspect arrested, but gave no further details.
According to la Repubblica and La Gazzetta dello Sport newspapers, the Atalanta and Inter fans got into an argument first in a pub and then in a street near Atalanta’s stadium on Saturday night. That escalated into violence, with the Atalanta supporter knifed in the back.
Media reported that a suspect in his late teens had been arrested and that a knife was found close to the man who died. Emergency services arrived swiftly but were unable to save his life.
Atalanta fans unfurled a banner at the start of their match against Monza on Sunday in memory of the murdered fan.
There was no immediate comment from the club.
In 2023, a Paris St Germain supporter was seriously injured in Italy after being stabbed during clashes between fans ahead of a Champions League match against AC Milan.
Also that year, a 58-year-old Newcastle United fan was hospitalised after being stabbed in Milan by hooded attackers on the eve of another Champions League game.
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro in Milan and Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
