Juventus and Liverpool fans hurled objects at one another during a pre-game ceremony on Wednesday recalling the Heysel Stadium tragedy.
Liverpool visited Juventus for the first time since 39 people were crushed to death in riots blamed largely on Liverpool supporters at the 1985 European Cup final in Brussels, Belgium.
As a banner declaring ”Memoria e amicizia [Memory and friendship]” was brought on to the field, fans began launching objects at one another over the plexiglass fence separating the two clubs’ supporters. Police quickly stepped in and brought things under control.
Also, police used tear gas to control Juventus supporters as Liverpool fans entered Stadio delle Alpi, and a police car was set on fire, the Ansa news agency reported. A police helicopter circled above the stadium.
One Juventus banner said ”Violence is stupid”, while another read ”Reds animals”.
Most of the Liverpool fans — numbering just a few thousand — took the advice of British authorities and did not wear their customary red shirts.
A statement read over the stadium’s loudspeaker before the game warned fans in Italian and English against the use of violence, racial epithets or fireworks. Italy’s anti-violence laws were also outlined.
A night earlier, Juventus fans wielding baseball bats attacked a Liverpool supporter in a bar and police arrested eight Italian men — identified as ultras (hooligans) by Ansa — and seized bats from their cars.
Turin police said the attack occurred late on Tuesday after a group of Juventus fans entered a pub in the city centre where some Liverpool supporters were drinking.
One Liverpool fan, whose name was not released, was hit in the head by a bat. He suffered minor head injuries and was treated on the scene.
Despite a citywide ban on drinking, several Liverpool fans sipped beers at streetside cafés in downtown Turin on Wednesday afternoon, while Juventus fans walked by without objection.
More than 1 000 police officers have been deployed for what has been called a ”maximum-risk” game.
Some Italian fans are calling for retaliation for the Heysel tragedy and a group of Liverpool fans said it, too, would resort to violence.
A ceremony before the start of the first leg in Liverpool last week also honoured the victims. However, some Juve fans turned their backs on the ceremony and made obscene gestures. Liverpool won the match 2-1.
Tuesday night’s attack occurred shortly after a Champions League quarterfinal match between Inter Milan and AC Milan at the San Siro stadium was abandoned after Inter fans threw flares on to the field, hitting Milan goalkeeper Dida. — Sapa-AP