Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 6y

Roma fans banned from Udinese game after clashes at Hellas Verona

Roma fans have been banned from travelling to Saturday's Serie A game at Udinese after the prefect of Udine called them "dangerous."

A group of Roma supporters clashed with Hellas Verona fans prior to their away game earlier this month.

And in a statement published by Il Corriere dello Sport, the prefect of Udine said: "The Romanista organised fan groups are dangerous and have proven their willingness to be disruptive and violent.

"In order to guarantee order, security and public safety, the following measures have been adopted: the sale of all tickets to residents in the Lazio region is banned."

The clashes in Verona saw 21 Roma fans arrested and given stadium bans, and there were similar incidents prior to a fixture with Atalanta in 2016 and a Champions League game at Chelsea this season.

Other incidents involving Roma fans have happened in Bergamo, Milan and Turin.

Meanwhile, coach Eusebio Di Francesco said he hoped the club would permit him to work like Napoli's Maurizio Sarri with a settled squad, undisturbed by transfer rumours.

Roma suffered a dip in form around the January transfer window, when Chelsea were linked with Edin Dzeko and there was a reported approach from China for Radja Nainggolan.

However, the club did sell Emerson Palmieri to Chelsea, recouping some necessary funds in view of potential financial fair play sanctions.

Di Francesco told RAI Radio: "To build a squad, you need long-term plans and stability at the club.

"This current Napoli side are evidence of that, but so too are Juventus, who don't change much.

"I just hope that I can give continuity to many players and create a foundation upon which I can insert some others from time to time.

"This would be an optimal situation. To build you need to have plans, and this is what I'm trying to do at Roma, and I hope that when the club have put certain aspects in order, we can achieve this.

"Roma just need to sort out their accounts and then we can think about it."

He said Roma's poor run in January had been "linked to many problems, including the transfer market, which could have been a distraction, even if this must not be used as an excuse."

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