ROME (AFP) - Italy will need to get tough on its ´ultras´ if it is to prevent further disgraceful scenes like the ones in Catania which claimed the life of a policeman.

All domestic and international matches have been suspended after Filippo Raciti was killed by a home-made bomb as hooligans went on the rampage at Friday´s Sicilian derby between Catania and Palermo.

Catania president Antonino Pulvirenti said his club were fighting a losing battle against the mafia-like troublemakers.

"The majority of fans that come to football are respectable people, but unfortunately there is a unsavoury minority made up of criminals and thugs who nobody cares about and they unleash their anger in this way," he said.

"They live like barbarians and for three years now we have been held hostage by these people. For us it has become a daily battle, but we can only do so much on our own."

Pulvirenti said he expected the Italian football authorities to come down hard on his club after Friday´s riot.

"I fear the worst, but what can we do if one of these delinquents throws a bomb at a policeman outside the stadium? We´re sure to pay a dear price."

Ultras have a much bigger voice in Italy compared to most other leagues in Europe, and in most cases are well known to their clubs.

They often use intimidatory tactics to get free match tickets, travel concessions to away matches and to have the freedom to run their own merchandising rackets.

Often in Italy, scores of ultras will turn up at a training session to barrack their team if they are playing badly, or worse still attack them.

Perhaps the best example of fan power came in March 2004 when the Rome derby between Roma and Lazio was abandoned.

After the match had kicked-off, a rumour went round that a young Roma fan had been knocked over and killed by a police car.

Just before half time three Roma ultras leapt over the barriers and walked towards the pitch to speak to Roma captain Francesco Totti.

After the conversation, Totti returned to his coach Fabio Capello and his words were clearly picked up by television microphones. "If we play on they´re going to kill us," he said.

Referee Roberto Rosetti wanted to play on, but Totti and Lazio captain Sinisa Mihailovic were having none of it, and the game was called off.

The rumour about the dead fan turned out to be false, but Roma denied they had been blackmailed by the ultras. It was a show of strength by the ultras and demonstrated the power they yield in Italian football.

Legislation to try and stop the violence inside the grounds was introduced over a year ago, including named tickets, increased video surveillance, and the banning of flares, fireworks and racist banners.

But many clubs have failed to meet the criteria set by the government, leaving the ultras to do as they please inside the stadiums.

Clubs bear the burden of their misbehaving ultras and are normally hit with a fine or a stadium closure, while fans who are arrested often escape with a caution and are free to cause havoc the following weekend.

Outside the stadium there is little the clubs can do, with the problem then coming under the jurisdiction of the police.

Nowadays it seem the police are the primary target for the ultras rather than rival fans.

"They´re our nemesis," an Inter ultra told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Italian government are holding a meeting on Monday to discuss ways of tackling the problem, and unless they come down heavy on the ultras once and for all, hooliganism could prove fatal yet again.