Dhe celebrations for SSC Napoli’s victory in the Italian soccer championship have been marred by the death of a soccer fan. According to the police, a man died in the hospital in Naples on the night of the master party as a result of a gunshot wound. The 26-year-old had already been admitted in poor condition, the Italian news agency Ansa reported early on Friday morning. Mayor Gaetano Manfredi, however, denied any connection with the title party. The victim was a criminal and his killing was due to crime, he said on Radio Anch’io.
Three other people were injured by gunshots, three others had to be treated for injuries to their hands from cannons and firecrackers. A total of more than 200 Neapolitans came to the emergency rooms, reported the “Gazzetta dello Sport” in the morning, around 100 of them with moderate and serious injuries.
In Naples, tens of thousands celebrated on the streets. Shots were fired in the Piazza Volturno near the main train station. It was initially unclear whether the 26-year-old man was shot in a targeted manner or whether someone accidentally hit him. The three others injured by gunfire were reportedly involved in the same incident. When the man’s death became known, relatives and friends apparently stormed into the clinic and demolished parts of the emergency room, as the media said.
Fireworks in the sky and in the hands of numerous Naples fans.
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Image: AFP
SSC Napoli had won the championship title in Italy again after 33 years with a 1-1 draw at Udinese Calcio. Then there was a space storm from the SSC fans who had traveled with them. Udine supporters also gained access to the pitch, where there were occasional fights between fans of both clubs, as footage on social media shows. Video images show fans beating each other with belts and sticks, among other things, before security forces intervened.
A large police force was supposed to ensure that the celebrations remained peaceful in Udine and Naples. Nevertheless, incidents were quickly registered. As a result of the square storm, eight fans needed medical attention, the prefect said. The police investigated the circumstances of the gunshot wounds, some of which were fatal, and were initially unable to provide any information.
Most recently, Maradona was champion with Naples
After 33 years of waiting, the southern Italians had just won their third “Scudetto” and crowned a splendid season. In Udine, some were overwhelmed by the emotions: the actually quite cool coach Luciano Spalletti cried in the TV interview on DAZN when he remembered his brother, who had died some time ago, at the moment of triumph. When looking at the live pictures from Naples, where tens of thousands of fans were celebrating, the coach initially spoke of “great satisfaction”.
Cheers in Naples: But the celebrations were not without incident.
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Image: EPA
A 1-1 draw at Udinese Calcio secured their early Serie A triumph, with SSC 16 points clear of second-placed Lazio Roma with five games to go. “This championship is well deserved,” summed up captain Giovanni di Lorenzo with blue shimmering hair. In the changing room, the European champion, like many of his teammates, couldn’t escape the can of hair dye spray. “We can hardly wait for the celebration.”
At home in the port city at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, it was already in full swing. No wonder fans had to wait a long time for their third Serie A title after 1987 and 1990. The two successes fell into the Napoli era of world star Diego Armando Maradona.
On Thursday, 60,000 fans watched the decisive away game at Udinese on screens in the stadium named after Maradona, before heading downtown. From all corners of the city, fans let off firework rockets into the sky, similar to midnight on New Year’s Eve. In the Piazza del Plebiscito near the port, supporters crowded, sang and celebrated, waved flags and burned flares.