One of the Chelsea fans who was chased and attacked by ’20 or 30′ Napoli supporters ahead of their Champions League clash has spoken of his ‘shock’ at being stabbed during the incident.
As detailed by Daily Mail Sport, two Chelsea fans were admitted to hospital on Tuesday night where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Witnesses say supporters were attacked while they walked to a bar in the Italian city before they were targeted by a group of Napoli ‘ultras’ – a term used for hardcore supporter groups in European football.
Travelling Blues fan Marcus shared a picture of his hand covered in blood and said he had ‘got stabbed’ as he warned: ‘Nobody go out in Naples tonight is ROUGHH [sic]’.
He was later released from hospital overnight and speaking to BBC Sport, the 22-year-old, who was with ‘seven or eight’ friends shared the details of that terrifying experience.
‘We turned a corner – it wasn’t technically an alleyway, but it felt like one because there were no lights,’ he said.
‘There were about 20 or 30 people, all in black, walking towards us as soon as we made eye contact. Some people knew what was happening and ran straight away.
‘It was definitely a shock. Everyone was shaken up when we eventually found the police.
‘I was in shorts and they were covered in blood, with blood going all down my leg. We think it was a screwdriver – it could’ve been a Stanley blade. It was either that or a screwdriver.
‘I didn’t really feel it until I started running away. My left cheek felt heavy, almost, and as soon as I touched it my hand was covered in blood.’
Marcus has since reported the incident to local police in Naples and planned to attend Wednesday night’s encounter at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
The other injured fan was treated in hospital after being punched and kicked.
Following the incident, Chelsea released a statement urging their travelling supporters to take ‘extreme caution’ in Naples.
‘The club is aware of an incident that took place on Tuesday evening in Naples,’ the statement read on social media.
‘Two fans are being treated in hospital, having sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
‘The club would like to remind all supporters to exercise extreme caution whilst in the city and take note of the advice shared ahead of this fixture.’
Local police and Napoli have not commented on the incident and the Italian city is notorious as a dangerous place for visiting fans.
There were 2,500 tickets allocated for Chelsea fans at Napoli and a police escort accompanied free shuttle buses for those to get to the ground.
There is a long history of away fans being targeted by Napoli ultras. In 2023, hundreds of England fans were kept in buses ahead of a Euro 2024 qualifier with Italy in the city.
They were driven around and kept in cramped conditions for their own safety when the then-named UK Football Policing Unit was made aware of a ‘credible threat’ from Napoli’s notorious ultras.
Days earlier, a friendly match between the two nations’ fans was called off after a chilling email was sent to organisers warning that 60 of Napoli’s ultras were ‘coming for you’ and added ‘you be warned only 1 time’.
Last October, Napoli’s ultras fought with Sporting Lisbon counterparts before their Champions League match in a huge melee in which chairs were thrown.
And there was also violence for the fixture with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023 when eight people were arrested and 470 travelling supporters were kicked out of the country.
Several police cars were burned in that episode of violence on the streets and two police officers suffered injuries.
