Italy to impose tough security measures at stadiums

Matches will be played behind closed doors at stadiums that do not meet safety regulations and ticket sale to away fans will be halted, Italy's Interior Minister Giuliano Amato told a press conference on Monday.

Police would be given the authority to make arrests without warrants over rioting charges while minors would be included in the stadiums ban systems if found guilty of violence, he said.

The new measures and amendments are set to be discussed -- and most likely approved -- during a meeting of the Italian cabinet on Wednesday.

An approval may open the door for professional and amateur fixtures to be resumed as soon as the weekend after the Italian football authorities decided to suspend all activities after the Sicilian derby on Friday.

A policeman was killed by a homemade bomb and some 70 fans, including another officer, were left at hospitals in critical condition after a tragedy took place as Catania hosted arch-rivals Palermo in the Serie A.

Violence was triggered when Palermo's supporters were not allowed into the stadium and it quickly spread into the venue, forcing police to use tear gas to suppress the crowd.