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Italy's football stadiums which are not in line with security regulations will remain shut as the government approved a set of measures to fight hooliganism.
"Matches in stadiums which aren't in line with regulations will be played
behind closed doors," said deputy Interior Minister Marco Minniti.
The move follows a policeman's death during clashes between fans.
Filippo Raciti died after he was struck by a blunt object during rioting at the derby between Catania and Palermo.
The measures include a ban on the block sale of tickets to away fans, a beefing-up of stadium bans for those involved in violence at grounds and a ban on financial or working relationships between clubs and fan associations.
The minister of sport, Giovanni Melandri also announced an increase in the minimum jail sentence for those who incite violence at football matches from three years to five.
Fans with a history of violence can be banned from stadia for up to seven years.
Italian justice minister Clemente Mastella believes that improving Italian football grounds is key to combating violence.
"We know that this decree may cause some problems to the fans but I am sure they will understand, those who may not understand will be the violent fans," he said.
"There has been a lot of talk in recent days about English football as an example, we can only look at European stadia to see that they are very different from what we have here in Italy."
But the plan was fiercely criticised from figures within the world of Italian football.
Napoli's president Aurelio De Laurentiis said a "fascist climate" had descended on the country since the policeman's death.
"The closed stadiums are a ridiculous idea. They can't impose these regulations on us. We must go on strike," said De Laurentiis.
The presidents of clubs in the top two divisions Serie A and Serie B will meet on Thursday to discuss the anti-hooligan plan at a meeting of the Italian Football League on Thursday.
It is understood that only five stadiums in Italy are currently acceptable in both Serie A and Serie B - the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the Artemio Franchi in Siena, the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Renzo Barbera in Palermo and Bologna's Renato Dall'Ara.
Other grounds, such as the San Siro in Milan, do not fall far short of the guidelines which would allow fans to enter the stadium.
"It would be better to halt play for another week because playing behind closed doors would be the death of football," AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini said of the idea of playing matches without the fans.
The president of Palermo warned that the government's unyielding stance would fail to curb the violence.
"They have drawn up these measures without listening to the clubs that have been fighting violence for years," Maurizio Zamparini said.
"Even if we close the stadiums, these criminals will do the same outside."
The policy will hit Italy's lower divisions even harder than Serie A.
Eight out of 11 matches in the next round of Serie B matches are expected to be played behind closed doors if the government pushes the measures through.
An estimated £9.9m (15m euros) is lost by halting a day's games in Italian football.
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Source: BBC Sport |
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