Tottenham fans attacked in Rome

A Tottenham fan was left seriously injured and several others needed hospital treatment after being attacked by Lazio supporters in Rome.

Violent clashes erupted after 1am on Thursday morning when around 50 ‘Ultras’ attacked a group of Spurs fans at the Drunken Ship pub in the Campo de Fiori.

Nine Tottenham supporters, aged between 20-60, were left wounded with one critically ill after being stabbed.

The Lazio fans, who had their faces covered by motorcycle helmets or scarves, were armed with knives, baseball bats, belts and knuckle dusters, according to reports.

One witness told an Italian newspaper he ‘feared the worst’ and photographs showed that the pub was extensively damaged in the attack.

The owner of the bar, Mario Manzi, said: “At 1am there were around 30 English fans here, plus some American students, and some Italians.

“At some point, from around the corner, some 40 guys, all wearing helmets, faces covered with scarves, came here, destroyed that window, and came in.

“The English people hid behind here, and everything was destroyed. There were rocks, iron bars, everything.”

He said: “The English fans were very calm, they weren’t even drunk, then these men with heads covered came barging in throwing cobblestones. They had clubs and metal rods. It lasted about 20 minutes.”

Mr Manzi added: “This was a planned thing. They had studied it. The English people had been here since the afternoon. They were circled, cornered, and weren’t allowed to go out.”

A Tottenham spokesman said: “We understand from local police that nine of our supporters suffered injuries last night following an incident in the city centre.

“Three of these supporters were taken to hospital for further treatment. We continue to seek further information and are liaising with both Italian and UK police on this matter.”

Police made a number of arrests at the scene and a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed they are investigating.

Tottenham are due to play Lazio in the Italian capital tonight at 18:00 GMT in a Europa League match.

Spurs and Lazio played out a goalless draw in September in a game which was marred by racist chanting by some Lazio fans.