Govt mulls life bans over hooligan shame

P(ANSA) – Rome, May 5 – The Italian government on Monday said it was mulling lifetime bans for soccer hooligans amid mounting outrage over the latest instance of alleged ‘ultra rule’ and the worst case of violence in years.BRJustice Minister Andrea Orlando said his experts would help Interior Minister Angelino Alfano frame possible life bans after a Napoli fan was shot in the spine, apparently in self-defence, and a capo ultra allegedly halted the Italian Cup Final between Napoli and Fiorentina for nearly an hour Saturday before reportedly receiving assurances no one had died.BRPolice issued official figures showing there were 388 ultra groups around Italy, 60 of whom were “politicised”.BR”These groups have reached a critical mass that could turn them all into ticking time-bombs,” the Italian police’s central office said in a statement. A formal negotiation on Saturday night has been denied by club and match officials, Rome authorities and the ultra chief himself, but the case was still seen as the umpteenth example of clubs giving in to the leaders of the hardcore fans who have controversial ties to officials, mostly rightist political extremists, and sometimes the criminal underground.BROrlando said his ministry would help the interior ministry lengthen DASPO bans from soccer matches and probe suspected links between ultras and organised crime.BRLife bans were “among the options” on the table, he said.BR”There is not just the issue of vigilance at grounds but also the work that the relevant judiciary has done in this area, which also involves the links between certain fan groups and fringes of organised crime,” Orlando said.BRThe Napoli capo-ultra who stopped the Napoli-Fiorentina game for 40 minutes was rumoured to have links to the southern city’s Camorra mafia.BROn life DASPOs, Orlando said his ministry would “examine the proposals that come from the interior ministry”.BRAS well as outrage, the incident spurred some back-biting between sports bodies with the head of the Italian olympic committee (CONI), Giovanni Malag