Some group of Roma fans have reportedly assaulted, stabbed, and injured Brighton fans before the Europa League match between Roma and Brighton.
It will be a rollercoaster matchup as the rejuvenated Roma side under Danielle Di Rossi battles Roberto De Zerbi's high-flying young guns for a place in the quarterfinal of the 2023/24 Europa League.
The festive atmosphere in Rome ahead of the crunch tie seems to have been marred with brutal resort to violence by crops of assailants targeting Brighton fans.
According to a report shared by BBC via an eyewitness, some group of fans apparently Roma supporters, numbering 6, all dressed in hoods, initiated the barbaric attack.
According to the eyewitnesses, several Brighton fans among the 3,600 fans who traveled to Rome to watch the Europa League cracker were attacked by the hoodlums.
They have reportedly sustained various degrees of injuries as a result.
However, it has been confirmed the injuries are not life-threatening but two of the victims who were not only assaulted but stabbed have been hospitalized.
One of the victims, Joey Thorpe, who was assaulted, told the BBC that the assailants took everyone unawares. Thorpe said he was beaten and punched in the face until he fell to the ground, and about four fans were injured but only two were stabbed and have been hospitalized.
"I got hit in the back of the head a couple of times and then I fell to the floor. They were just kicking me and punching me on the floor.
"I got back to the hotel, luckily because my injuries weren't awful, and I found out that two of my friends got stabbed, Thorpe said.
He added one of his friends was still in hospital with a "bad wound" and would probably miss the game.
"You shouldn't go to a football game and this happens."
The attacks have been linked to football hooligans supporting Roma but the police have cautioned that they cannot establish the attack was orchestrated by Roma supporters.
Meanwhile investigations are on to arrest and bring the culprits to book.
It will be a rollercoaster matchup as the rejuvenated Roma side under Danielle Di Rossi battles Roberto De Zerbi's high-flying young guns for a place in the quarterfinal of the 2023/24 Europa League.
The festive atmosphere in Rome ahead of the crunch tie seems to have been marred with brutal resort to violence by crops of assailants targeting Brighton fans.
According to a report shared by BBC via an eyewitness, some group of fans apparently Roma supporters, numbering 6, all dressed in hoods, initiated the barbaric attack.
According to the eyewitnesses, several Brighton fans among the 3,600 fans who traveled to Rome to watch the Europa League cracker were attacked by the hoodlums.
They have reportedly sustained various degrees of injuries as a result.
However, it has been confirmed the injuries are not life-threatening but two of the victims who were not only assaulted but stabbed have been hospitalized.
One of the victims, Joey Thorpe, who was assaulted, told the BBC that the assailants took everyone unawares. Thorpe said he was beaten and punched in the face until he fell to the ground, and about four fans were injured but only two were stabbed and have been hospitalized.
"I got hit in the back of the head a couple of times and then I fell to the floor. They were just kicking me and punching me on the floor.
"I got back to the hotel, luckily because my injuries weren't awful, and I found out that two of my friends got stabbed, Thorpe said.
He added one of his friends was still in hospital with a "bad wound" and would probably miss the game.
"You shouldn't go to a football game and this happens."
The attacks have been linked to football hooligans supporting Roma but the police have cautioned that they cannot establish the attack was orchestrated by Roma supporters.
Meanwhile investigations are on to arrest and bring the culprits to book.