Atalanta Fan Stabbed to Death in Clashes with Inter Supporters

FILE PHOTO: Atalanta fans unfurl banner for 26-year old Atalanta BC fan, Riccardo Claris who was stabbed to death during clashes with Inter Milan supporters, in Italian reading: "Claris is everywhere with us", during the match against AC Monza, in Monza, Italy, May 4, 2025. REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo /File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Atalanta fans unfurl banner for 26-year old Atalanta BC fan, Riccardo Claris who was stabbed to death during clashes with Inter Milan supporters, in Italian reading: "Claris is everywhere with us", during the match against AC Monza, in Monza, Italy, May 4, 2025. REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo /File Photo
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Atalanta Fan Stabbed to Death in Clashes with Inter Supporters

FILE PHOTO: Atalanta fans unfurl banner for 26-year old Atalanta BC fan, Riccardo Claris who was stabbed to death during clashes with Inter Milan supporters, in Italian reading: "Claris is everywhere with us", during the match against AC Monza, in Monza, Italy, May 4, 2025. REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo /File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Atalanta fans unfurl banner for 26-year old Atalanta BC fan, Riccardo Claris who was stabbed to death during clashes with Inter Milan supporters, in Italian reading: "Claris is everywhere with us", during the match against AC Monza, in Monza, Italy, May 4, 2025. REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo /File Photo

A 26-year-old fan of Italian Serie A team Atalanta was stabbed to death during clashes between Atalanta and Inter Milan supporters in the northern city of Bergamo, Italy's Carabinieri police said on Sunday.
It marked a troubling continuation of fan violence in Italy, where last month 13 police officers were injured during clashes between AS Roma and Lazio supporters ahead of the Rome derby.
The Atalanta and Inter fans got into an argument in a pub in Bergamo on Saturday night after one of the Inter supporters chanted provocatively, the head of Carabinieri office in Bergamo Carmelo Beringheli told Reuters.
The confrontation then continued in a street near the Atalanta stadium and escalated into violence when an Inter supporter stabbed the Atalanta fan, he said, adding that emergency services arrived swiftly but were unable to save his life.
A boy in his late teens had been arrested and said he acted to protect his brother, Reuters quoted Beringheli as saying.
Atalanta fans unfurled a banner at the start of their 4-0 Serie A win at Monza on Sunday in memory of the murdered fan.
"What happened to our fan must never happen again", Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini said in a press conference after the match.
There was no official comment from the club on the incident.
In 2023, a Paris St Germain supporter was seriously injured in Italy after being stabbed during clashes between fans ahead of a Champions League match against AC Milan.
Also that year, a 58-year-old Newcastle United fan was hospitalized after being stabbed in Milan by hooded attackers on the eve of another Champions League game.



Sabalenka Apologizes to Gauff for Post-Match Comments After French Open 

Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
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Sabalenka Apologizes to Gauff for Post-Match Comments After French Open 

Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 

Aryna Sabalenka says she has written to Coco Gauff to apologize for the “unprofessional” comments she made following her loss to her American rival in the final of the French Open.

Speaking to Eurosport Germany, the top-ranked Sabalenka said her remarks after her 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 loss to Gauff at Roland-Garros this month were a mistake. In her post-match press conference in Paris, Sabalenka had suggested that the result was more due to her own errors than to Gauff's performance.

“That was just completely unprofessional of me,” Sabalenka said. “I let my emotions get the better of me. I absolutely regret what I said back then. You know, we all make mistakes. I’m just a human being who’s still learning in life. I think we all have those days when we lose control. But what I also want to say is that I wrote to Coco afterward — not immediately, but recently.”

Sabalenka hit 37 winners but finished the final with 70 unforced errors, compared to Gauff’s 30.

She said she wrote to Gauff to apologize and “make sure she knew she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her.”

“I never intended to attack her,” Sabalanka added. “I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference. I’m not necessarily grateful for what I did. It took me a while to go back and think about it, to approach it with open eyes, and to understand. I realized a lot about myself. Why did I lose so many finals?”

Sabalenka, a three-time major champion, also lost to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final, where she also won the first set.

“I kept getting so emotional,” Sabalenka added. “So I learned a lot. Above all, one thing: I’m the one who always treats my opponents with great respect, whether I win or lose. Without that respect, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So it was a tough, but very valuable lesson for me.”