Interior Minister Giuliano Amato on Tuesday vowed to stamp out the kind of soccer violence that raged across Italy Sunday after a policeman's bullet left a fan dead at a Tuscan service station.
''We will use all the instruments we have at our disposal,'' Amato told parliament.
Italian police were up to the task, he said, stressing that Rome police opted to let a street rampage in Rome Sunday night play itself out ''to avoid a blood bath''.
''I will take full responsibility for being firm in the face of violence.
''We all have a responsibility to eradicate the roots of this violence. It is time to start taking this (problem) seriously,'' Amato said.
The death of 26-year-old Lazio fan Gabriele Sandri was the excuse hooligan groups had been waiting for since a crackdown following the death of 38-year-old police officer Filippo Raciti at a stadium riot in Sicily in February, Amato said.
''It was the opportunity they had been looking for to raise the banners they had furled after Raciti's death,'' Amato said.
''There was rage, blind and subversive rage,'' he said, adding that many hooligans were whipped up to commit violence by political extremists.
Amato said he agreed with soccer authorities' decision to halt play next weekend, even though only the Serie B and C divisions were on the roster because of Italy's Euro 2008 match in Scotland.
The suspension was ''right'' he said, as ''an expression of mourning for a young man and a chance to reflect on the ways to rid stadiums of violence''.
There have been calls for Serie A to be halted, too, instead of allowing it to return the following weekend.
Italy legend Gigi Riva, now a director in the Azzurri management squad, said he was prepared to see a year's stop.
''First we have to stop all this violence and then we can think about playing again. I would stop the (Serie A) championship, right now if necessary, for a year if need be, to stamp out this terrorism''.
If arrested, the 400 or so Lazio and Roma fans who ran amok near Rome's Olympic Stadium Sunday night, attacking three police stations, burning vehicles and wounding 40 officers, may face the additional charge of acting as terrorists because their assault was organised like a military offensive, Rome prosecutors said Monday.
Police are still looking at surveillance tape from the Rome riots - in which the HQ of Italian sports supreme body the Italian Olympic Committee was also trashed - in the hope of adding to Monday's four arrests.
Two of those were charged Tuesday with criminal damage while the other two got the extra 'terrorism' charge.
''Finally this morning I read the right word, terrorism,'' Riva said.
''What happened Sunday was civil war''.
According to a poll released Tuesday, more than 50% of Italians agreed with the idea of holding games in empty stadiums, while 26% would like to see Serie A shut up shop for a few weeks and 15% agreed to the proposal that only home fans should be allowed into grounds.
As well as next week's suspension of play, soccer's anti-hooligan body has also ordered a group travel ban until the introduction of a so-called fan ID card making sure the holder is not a hooligan.
Matches will also be scrapped if there are incidents between fans not in the vicinity of the stadium.
When new ground improvements decided after Raciti's death have been implemented - the deadline is March - play will not be allowed unless there is the required number of stewards in the stadium.
After the policeman's death Italian authorities moved to upgrade grounds and hand duties inside the stadium to English-style stewards.
They are also trying to privatise grounds so that clubs will be forced to take full responsibility for stopping crowd trouble.
In Milan on Tuesday ten fans were arrested for incidents after Sunday's Inter-Lazio game was called off.
Three were arrested in Bergamo, making a total of ten accused of incidents that led to Atalanta-Milan being suspended.
Seven were arrested in the southern city of Taranto, where a Serie C match had to be suspended because of crowd trouble. The match was awarded to Taranto's opponents and the stadium closed for four games.
Fans from around Italy meanwhile filed into a central Rome church to pay their last respects to Sandri, the Lazio fan who worked as a DJ at venues including the cult Piper club.
An investigation into his death is still going on. The policeman who shot Sandri from the other side of the motorway may face manslaughter or even murder charges.
Amato told the Senate that ''the dynamics of the incident are still not clear''.
At present the officer, Luigi Spaccatorella, is under investigation for manslaughter but superiors said the possible charge ''could get worse''.
Witnesses saw the 35-year-old policeman taking clear aim with both hands on his gun, Amato confirmed.
Spaccatorella apparently acted in the belief that Sandri and his three friends were speeding off after robbing the petrol station - when in fact they were driving away after a scuffle with a small group of Juventus fans.
Death threats against the policeman appeared on Rome walls Tuesday. The incident has also resurrected the slogan ''10, 100, 1,000 Racitis'' which have appeared in several Italian cities.
