Cultural Mix Cauldron for Soccer Trouble

Italian police clash with Manchester United fans during their Champion's League quarter-finals first leg soccer match at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy, in this Wednesday April 4, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Jon Super) (Jon Super - AP)

LONDON -- The two opponents face each other, neither showing signs of fear. One side is filled with passion, strength in numbers and maybe too much attitude. The other is united, powerful and prepared for anything. When the action starts, bad things happen. And it happened twice last week: soccer fans and police fighting in the stands.

The first time was Wednesday in Italy during AS Roma's 2-1 win over Manchester United in the Champions League quarterfinals. A day later in Spain, there was more trouble as Sevilla beat Tottenham by the same score in the last eight of the UEFA Cup.

In each case _ both involving traveling English fans _ it's difficult to decide who was to blame.

It's easy to say it was the fans, especially considering which fans were involved. The English have a long history of hooliganism, but the country has gone to great lengths in recent years to stop the violence, including banning fences inside stadiums that can create a caged-in feeling.

It's not hard to blame the police, either. But knowing the reputation of English fans, they can hardly be condemned for possibly overreacting to the slightest perceived act of violence _ particularly after fighting had occurred outside each stadium before the game.

The fault, more than likely, lies in distinct soccer cultures.

English soccer fans clearly can be aggressive, especially after a few pints of beer. But it's hard to imagine the majority are looking to pick a fight with a throng of police officers armed with batons and wearing riot gear.

In English stadiums, the police show their might in numbers but are generally subdued when it comes to pushing around unruly fans. They know they're not going to get involved in any scuffles unless they are truly threatened.

In southern Europe, the police don't necessarily wait for something bad to happen before jumping into action. Consider what happened in Sicily in February.

Filippo Raciti, a 38-year-old Italian policeman, was killed during street clashes at the Catania-Palermo game Feb. 2. But that was outside the stadium, where police have less control because the fans are no longer crammed into certain sections.

After Raciti's death, play was suspended for a week and the country passed laws requiring stadiums to be more secure. Britain's top law enforcement official, Home Secretary John Reid, then offered to help the Italians combat the violence.

But another factor in the more recent violence, which certainly played a role at the Roma match, is yet another cultural difference among fans.

When an English team scores a goal, the fans yell and cheer in jubilation, and then maybe send a few foul words toward the opposing fans.

In southern Europe, however, many celebrate a goal by instantly goading rival fans with hand signals that are more prevalent during rush-hour traffic jams.

The Roma fans are no exception. After Rodrigo Taddei scored to give his team a 1-0 lead in the first half, they even started banging on the transparent partition that separated them from a section of United fans.

The United fans reacted, likely perceiving that as an act of aggression, by running toward the partition and banging back. That's when the police in the United section got involved, leaving some bloodied and others with bumps and bruises.

In the aftermath, each side was quick to blame the other.

"In what the club views as a severe overreaction, local police handed out indiscriminate beatings to United supporters," United said.

Achille Serra, the Italian government's top security official in Rome, had another view after watching a video tape of the trouble.

"The officers couldn't escape," Serra said. "They were completely surrounded."

In Seville, riot police charged at Tottenham fans shortly after Sevilla had scored its first goal from a disputed penalty. Many of the visiting fans, while surrounded by police, tore up stadium seats and threw them.

Spanish police said 11 officers were injured in the scuffle and one had to be hospitalized.

The governing body of European soccer will certainly look at both disturbances. UEFA president Michel Platini, who took over in January, has been calling for a crackdown on violence, and last month wrote a letter to all 53 European soccer associations.

"Our game is under serious threat _ from violence," Platini wrote. "Violence on the field, in the stands and outside stadiums is poisoning football."