Italian fan shot dead by policeman

AFP - 11 November 2007 15:11

Lazio fans light up fireworks before a match in Rome, October 2007. Authorities in the central Tuscany region said that the Italian football fan shot dead was killed by a police officer in what was a

ROME (AFP) - The Italian football fan shot dead on Sunday was killed by a police officer in what was a "tragic error," authorities in the central Tuscany region said.

"Our officer intervened to ensure that skirmishes between two groups of people, who had not been identified as (football) fans, did not degenerate with serious consequences for both parties," local prefect Vincenzo Giacobbe said.

The victim was named as 26 year-old Gabriele Sandri.

Media reports had cited witnesses as saying that a police officer had intervened following a fight between supporters of rival football teams Juventus and Lazio and that he had used his gun.