Italian police take Feyenoord fans to safety after assault in Rome

A group of about 100 to 150 Feyenoord supporters were besieged by Italian hooligans in Rome last night. Police moved the supporters to safety by taking them to their hotels by city buses, writes Rijnmond.

Tonight at 9 p.m., Feyenoord will play the Europa League quarterfinals against AS Roma. Italian authorities have ruled that for security reasons no Feyenoord supporters are allowed at the match, but several hundred fans have traveled to Italy anyway. A delegation of the Rotterdam police also went to Rome as a precaution.

It is customary for Rotterdam supporters to gather in a pub, preferably an Irish pub, the night before a match. There they were surprised by a group of about two hundred hooligans, Italian media report.

Roma supporters near the pub:

“There has indeed been unrest at this café,” said a police spokesman. “The café was besieged by Italian supporters. For their own safety, we took the group of one hundred to one hundred and fifty people back to their hotel with two city buses.”

Police in the Italian capital have been on high alert since yesterday. Fences have been erected around important monuments and extra police in plain clothes are patrolling certain neighborhoods. At a previous duel between the two clubs, in 2015, Rotterdam supporters caused destruction in the Italian capital.