Italy: Bus Driver Carrying Basketball Fans Dies After Rock Attack

A bus driver was killed while helping transport fans home from a second-division basketball game in Italy, in an act of violence that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday condemned as “unacceptable and senseless.”

The incident, involving rocks thrown through bus windows by rival supporters, occurred Sunday night following a match in Rieti between RSR Sebastiani Rieti and Estra Pistoia. The victim was the reserve driver of a bus taking Pistoia fans back to Tuscany after the game.

“I trust that those responsible for this cowardly and criminal act will be identified and swiftly brought to justice,” Meloni wrote on X.

Authorities had already been forced to intervene during halftime when fans from both teams clashed, La Repubblica reported. Police escorted the bus carrying Pistoia supporters until it reached the outskirts of Rieti, where the assault began.

“How is it possible to die in such a way, while returning home from a basketball game?” wrote Italy’s Minister of Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, on X. “The attack carried out last night near Rieti by criminals who have become murderers—and who can never be called fans—is shocking.”

“Sport is life, and these criminals are light-years away from the values of sport,” Abodi added. “Our condolences to the family of the reserve driver of the Pistoia fans’ bus, killed by homicidal madness.”

Italy has a long history of fan violence that has resulted in deaths, primarily in soccer. Daniele Belardinelli, a supporter of Inter Milan, was killed after being struck by a van driven by a Napoli fan in 2018. Napoli fan Ciro Esposito died 50 days after being shot by a Roma supporter in 2014. Police officer Filippo Raciti was killed during riots following a Sicilian soccer derby between Catania and Palermo in 2007. That same year, Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri was shot dead by an officer intervening during clashes with Juventus fans at a highway rest stop.