Sports

Monday September 7, 2009

Roma fans tell owner to sell club

ROME: Some 500 AS Roma fans unveiled banners and sang chants asking owner Rosella Sensi to sell the club at a largely peaceful protest at their training ground on Saturday.

Two takeover attempts have fallen through in the past two years but pharmaceutical magnate Francesco Angelini has expressed fresh interest in bidding for the Serie A side.

Roma’s lack of funds and their difficulties in the transfer market contributed to popular coach Luciano Spalletti’s resignation on Tuesday, with Sensi quickly bringing in Rome-born Claudio Ranieri to try to placate angry supporters.

The protesters dispersed after several hours, with media reporting that four firecrackers had been thrown at the training ground entrance.

Some 100 fans from clubs across Italy also held a meeting in Rome on Saturday to decide how to proceed in their protests against a government plan to make all fans use electronic “supporter cards” for away matches from January.

The government believe the initiative will make it easier to police matches and electronically track Italy’s notorious soccer hooligans, but fans feel it is an invasion of privacy. — Reuters

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