There will be no away fans at the Diego Armando Stadium on March 15th for Napoli v Eintracht Frankfurt, which will be the second leg of the Champions League last 16.
Eintracht have announced via social media that they were: “informed by UEFA late last night that the Italian Ministry of the Interior will issue an injunction later this morning against host club SSC Napoli, banning the club from selling tickets to Eintracht Frankfurt supporters for the event on Wednesday, March 15, 9 p.m., second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
They further stated: “This should also include the official guest contingent of a total of 2,700 tickets, including 2,400 in the guest sector, to which Eintracht Frankfurt is entitled under the UEFA regulations. As soon as the concrete content of the order is available, Eintracht Frankfurt will comment on this development in detail”.
As of right now there are no official reasons behind this decision but it’s likely that Italian Ministry of the Interior will justify their injunction under grounds of public policy.
It has been reported that on February 21st, hours prior the game, three Napoli fans were left injured after a scuffle with Eintracht Frankfurt supporters. There had been a fight inside the away stand during the game but no Eintracht Frankfurt supporters were involved in that case.
It is the second time this season that away fans are banned from the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for Champions League games.
Rangers fans did not travel to Napoli for the match played in late October and at the time, the decision was justified under sporting integrity as Napoli fans did not travel to Glasgow for the first leg as the game was played few days after Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Napoli won the first leg 2-0 away in Frankfurt thanks to Victor Osimhen and Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s goals. Eintracht will miss French striker Randal Kolo Muani as he’s suspended after receiving a red card in the first leg.
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Andrea Agostinelli I GIFN
