Police stop 54 weapon-carrying Ajax fans ahead of Juve game

Italian police stopped 54 weapon-carrying Ajax supporters on the eve of Tuesday’s Champions League match against Juventus and will escort them out of the country on Wednesday.

The fans were stopped aboard buses on the outskirts of Turin on Monday.

Police are on high alert following clashes between Ajax and Juventus supporters ahead of the first leg of the quarterfinals in Amsterdam last week, when water cannons were used by the authorities and dozens of fans were arrested.

Turin police say the fans aboard the buses were also found in possession of armored gloves, mouth guards and various types of fireworks and smoke bombs.

“We’re fighting against every type of violence inside and outside stadiums,” Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted. “Certain DELINQUENTS should never step foot in a football ground again!”

Salvini, the leader of Italy’s far-right League party, added that the fans — who were not arrested — will be led away to the border according to a security decree.

The first leg, which ended 1-1, also included a fan jumping over the barriers and approaching Cristiano Ronaldo when the Juventus star scored. UEFA is investigating the incident and Ajax faces disciplinary charges after supporters threw objects the game.

More than 2,000 Ajax supporters are expected to attend Tuesday’s match at Allianz Stadium.

-AP

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ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

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An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.

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