Roberto Gualtieri, the mayor of Rome, suggested that Feyenoord fans could be banned from attending the Europa League clash with Roma.
The Giallorossi have been drawn against the Eredivisie side in the Europa League quarter-finals, a tie that carries a little extra weight following their meeting in the Europa Conference League final last season, which Jose Mourinho’s side won 1-0.
Feyenoord fans are known to be rowdy and they’ve faced countless sanctions in recent years for their behaviour, which includes vandalism, clashes with police and violence.
Speaking to Radio Romanista, mayor Gualtieri expressed his concerns ahead of the Europa League clash between Roma and Feyenoord.
“For Feyenoord we have negative precedents, and then in the aftermath of the match the BIE (Bureau International des Expositions, ed.) inspectors will arrive to assess the credibility of Rome’s bid for the 2030 Expo, so we must prevent incidents of any kind.
“We must be particularly careful. I called Minister Piantedosi and asked him to evaluate the strictest and most rigorous measures to protect Rome twice, as an artistic heritage and as a candidate for the Expo.
“We will follow with great attention the measures that will be taken, and we have also asked him to evaluate the travel ban.”
Fellow Roman side Lazio faced off against Feyenoord in the Europa League earlier this season, in a match where coach Maurizio Sarri complained that bags of urine were thrown at him.
The clashes between Eintracht Frankfurt fans and authorities in Naples have not been forgotten and the hope is to avoid a repeat of these scenes in the Italian capital.