Melandri calls for drastic action

Sports minister Giovanna Melandri has called for Italian football to be halted for several weeks in order to crack down on violence in the sport.

Melandri spoke after a meeting with Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) president Gianni Petrucci and Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Giancarlo Abete in Rome on Monday.

She said: "A decision has to be taken to make a significant gesture. I expect the football world to make the right decision, such as halting the tournament for several weeks."

The meeting came in the wake of the violence which erupted on Sunday.

Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old disc jockey, was accidentally shot by police as they attempted to quell fighting between fans of the Biancoceleste and Juventus at a motorway service station near Arezzo.

News of the shooting prompted trouble on the terraces at the game between Atalanta and AC Milan in Bergamo while, later in the day, fans in Rome armed with batons and stones attacked one of the police units in the vicinity of the Stadio Olimpico before raiding the headquarters of CONI.

Melandri's proposal to suspend football in Italy has been met with stiff opposition, however.

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni is just one who believes that does not go far enough.

He said: "To stop the tournament? Everyone feels the duty to become judges on what should or should not be done. But are they sure that that would be sufficient?

"What has happened drains enthusiasm and strength and we must react. If we think that all it takes is to stop playing for a long period then we are the ones deceived. We must all say: 'Enough is enough'."