Italian authorities vowed Monday to maintain their tough stance on hooliganism after the weekend's resumption of soccer action showed the problem is still far from beaten.
A group of AS Roma fans shocked the nation Sunday by breaking a minute's silence for Filippo Raciti - the police officer whose death during rioting at the February 2 Catania-Palermo match led to the government crackdown.
Their whistles were quickly drowned out by applause for the dead policeman from the rest of the crowd. But the group of around 100 hooligans went on to sing anti-police chants during Roma's 3-0 win over Parma.
There were reports of anti-police chants in Turin at the Torino-Reggina game too.
In Bergamo Atalanta fans fired a flare into the local stadium during the match against Lazio - one of four top-flight games played behind closed doors because the ground does not comply with security regulations.
Italian news bulletins also showed video footage of a furious brawl between directors of two amateur clubs at the weekend. A 40-year-old man died after trying to break up a fight at an Italian amateur game just one week before Raciti's death.
Sports Minister Giovanna Melandri vowed that the fans responsible for the Rome incident would be "punished and not allowed back into the stadium again".
The Italian police are working to identify the offenders and Rome prosecutors are expected to press charges against them.
Several leading figures from the world of Italian sport highlighted the positive reaction of the other fans.
"When such serious incidents take place, it is necessary to focus on what the majority of fans did by drowning out the whistles of those idiots," said Gianni Petrucci, the chief of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), which oversees all sport in Italy.
On Monday the government and the sporting authorities also fended off criticism of their decision to close stadiums that are not up to scratch.
Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini suggested it would be better to abandon the championship rather than play games without fans, following his side's 0-2 win over Chievo Verona at an empty Bentegodi Stadium.
His comments echoed those of a number of club chairman and players, who said the stadium bans punish law-abiding football lovers and give teams who can play in front of their support an unfair advantage.
"It would be a good thing if all the different parts of the soccer world had the grace to shut up for one day," responded Petrucci.
"Everyone has their own solution to the problem but the fact of the matter is that those who had to decide what to do are going to continue down this road, regardless of the comments they hear".
Raciti's death caused last week's Serie A fixtures to be suspended and prompted the government to demand stadiums comply with a strict 2005 law on security at soccer matches.
The law was introduced after a previous wave of hooliganism but deadline postponements granted by local prefects had enabled many clubs to dodge it.
"It certainly is not nice to see games played behind closed doors, but the public has understood that we are acting for everyone's good," explained Luca Pancalli, the head of the Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC).
The 2005 law rules that stadiums must be equipped with video surveillance inside and outside the grounds and external lighting systems to help spot troublemakers.
It is also obligatory for stadiums to have turnstiles with electronic ticket checks in order to prevent known hooligans and fans without tickets from sneaking in.
There should be a series of barriers and gates at a set distance where stewards and police can 'filter' the crowd to create a security cordon around the ground.
Tickets must feature the buyer's name and the seat in the ground where they must sit - again to make it easier to identify hooligans.
The government has also stiffened penalties for hooliganism, banned the block sale of tickets to away fans and temporarily stopped evening kick-offs.
