Three people have been arrested for the attack on a Pistoia Basket fans' bus last night in Rieti, which resulted in the death of one of the two drivers, Raffaele Marianella. According to ANSA, at least two of the individuals are linked to far-right movements.
THE STORY
The post-match basketball match between Pistoia and Sebastiani di Rieti ended in tragedy. The A2 league game played in the Rieti capital, won by the visiting team, ended with an attack on a bus of Tuscan fans. A heavy hail of stones hit the bus, and the second driver, struck by a brick, died. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. His name was Raffaele Marianella, and he was 65 years old. "I will always keep you in my heart," his daughter, Federica Marianella, wrote on Instagram.
The attack occurred along the Rieti-Terni highway, near the Contigliano exit. Fans of the Rieti Sebastiani Basket team threw rocks, stones, and other objects at the bus as it was leaving the city after a match at the PalaSojourner stadium. The bus was hit by rocks thrown at the front, and the windshield was smashed in one spot by a stone, right at the height of the seat where the co-driver was likely sitting, next to the driver. The windshield is also cracked but not broken on the driver's side.
At the PalaSojurner in Rieti, during the A2 league game between Pistoia and Sebastiani Basket Rieti, there were moments of tension that were later quelled by security and law enforcement intervention. Tension erupted among the fans, particularly during the break between the second and third quarters, requiring the intervention of the police and Carabinieri. At the end of the game, the Pistoia fans' bus left the arena and was escorted by police to the Rieti-Terni highway junction. The fans then allegedly followed the bus for several kilometers and then launched an attack, throwing rocks and stones, which cost the driver his life. Emergency medical services, along with several police and Carabinieri patrols, arrived immediately.
Some crucial elements for reconstructing what happened have emerged from some WhatsApp chats in which reference is made to a punitive mission planned by at least three fans of the Sebastiani Basket Rieti team.
THE COMMENTS
The basketball world is in shock. Pistoia Basket 2000 Ssd arl "has learned with dismay the news of the death of one of the two drivers. The club expresses its shock at the circumstances that led to the accident." The president of Sebastiani Basket Rieti, Roberto Pietropaoli, is also shocked: the club "completely dissociates itself from what happened and expresses its deepest condolences and sympathy to the driver's family. This is a very serious matter, and the investigators, in whom we have full confidence, will shed light on it. We find ourselves talking about facts that have nothing to do with sport, and are completely distant from the values we strive to uphold every day as a club." Rieti's mayor, Daniele Sinibaldi, calls it "a shocking criminal act." "We hope that the circumstances of the incident will be immediately ascertained and full justice will be done," he states.
(Unioneonline)
