Tottenham Hotspur fans have been injured in bruising clashes with rival fans in Rome, with the Spurs being scheduled to play against Lazio at 18:00 GMT in Rome in a Europa League match.

One Tottenham Hotspur fan was gravely injured when he was knifed at the Drunken Ship bar in the Campo de’ Fiori district. The fan is believed to have encountered a severe damage to his artery.

The proprietor of Drunken Ship bar, Mario Manzi, has remarked that nearly 40 men, all of them being Lazio supporters, assaulted the Tottenham Hotspur supporters in the bar. The Lazio fans were sporting helmets and had veiled their faces during the attacks.

Football-related belligerent hooliganism, which is not a stranger to the European football scene, has been a crisis bedeviling the sport.

Parts of the Italian media have reported that the injured Tottenham Hotspur fans ranged from 20 years to 60 years old, with them being transported to different hospitals subsequent to the altercation with the Lazio fans.

Other segments of the Italian media have reported that 100 extremists assailed the Tottenham Hotspur fans at the Drunken Ship bar. The scene was reminiscent of hideous urban warfare, with the Lazio fans being equipped with knuckle dusters, knives and baseball bats, metal rods and cobblestones.

The Drunken Ship’s owner has remarked that the violence by Lazio fans seemed to be predetermined. The Tottenham Hotspur fans weren’t inebriated and were peaceful when the Lazio fans barged in. The Spurs supporters were cornered, encircled and were prevented from exiting the bar.

Meanwhile, Tottenham MP David Lammy has tweeted that Italian assurances to destroy the hooligans have never been implemented fully. Thus, whenever an EPL club is in Rome, the possibility of such stabbings is high. He expressed his empathy for the Tottenham Hotspur fans attacked in Rome last night.

Meanwhile, the remaining Tottenham Hotspur fans in Rome, uninjured yet, are eager to come back home as their enthusiasm has been diluted following the violence.

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