Shocking footage has emerged on social media of Frankfurt fans wreaking havoc in Naples, prior to their team’s Champions League round of 16 second leg.
Frankfurt’s fans are officially banned from attending Wednesday’s match at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for safety reasons, but despite efforts to keep fans out of the city, the German supporters have still arrived in their thousands.
A number of videos have circulated online, where Frankfurt’s supporters can be seen vandalising the city and attacking police cars.
Other clips also show Napoli and Frankfurt fans clashing with one another in the streets.
We’ve shared some of the horrific scenes below, but be warned that some may find the nature of this content distressing.
VIDEOS: Frankfurt fans cause havoc in Naples
After violent scenes ensued during the first leg of the tie, the Italian Interior Ministry initially banned all supporters from Germany from attending the return fixture.
While the ban was overturned on Saturday after an appeal from the German club, the prefecture of Naples then proceeded to ban all Frankfurt residents.
Eintracht’s attempts to oppose the ban were rejected and the German club decided to waive their 2,700 allocation to which they were entitled as per UEFA rules.
VIDEO: Frankfurt fans arrive in Naples despite being banned
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin stressed that Naples’ decision could set a dangerous precedent in European competitions and threatened to take games away from clubs when away fans are banned.
This is not the first time that Frankfurt fans have been at the centre of violent scenes.
During last year’s Europa League semi-final second-leg against West Ham, violence broke out in the streets of the German city and four Hammers fans were hospitalised after being ambushed by a gang of Eintracht supporters.
In terms of the game itself, Napoli lead 2-0 on aggregate and are the strong favourites to reach the last eight of the competition.
Frankfurt are the reigning Europa League champions, but Napoli have been one of the most in-form sides in Europe this year and currently hold an 18-point advantage at the top of Serie A.
If Luciano Spalletti’s team do make it through, then they will join fellow Italian sides AC and Inter Milan in the quarter-finals.
Inter were the last Italian team to win the Champions League, when Jose Mourinho inspired the club to glory in 2010.
Could Napoli finally end this barren run in Europe?
