Advertisement

Soccer-Turin bans Napoli supporters from Juventus clash

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Napoli supporters have been banned from attending their Serie A clash at Juventus on Oct. 29 and the away section of the stadium will be closed in order to avoid crowd trouble, Turin's city authority announced on Friday. The ban affects all residents in the region of Campania, where Naples is situated, as well as all registered supporters of Napoli, the Turin prefect said in a statement. The city's security committee for sports events proposed the ban "due to the heated rivalry between the two clubs, which already developed in the past into seriously critical situations for public order". The away section of the stadium was closed when the two sides met in Turin and Naples last season for the same reason. The fixture will be Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain's first match against his former club since he completed an acrimonious 90 million euro ($97.82 million) transfer before the start of season. The move infuriated a section of Napoli's fans, who tore up pictures of the 28-year-old and set fire to club shirts with his name on. Table toppers Juventus travel to third-placed AC Milan on Saturday while Napoli, fifth in the standings, face bottom club Crotone on Sunday. ($1 = 0.9200 euros) (Reporting by Silvia Recchimuzzi in Gdynia; Editing by Toby Davis)