Fans queue as Serie A resumes amid tightened security

MILAN, Feb 11 (Reuters) Fans waited patiently in line to enter Milan's San Siro stadium today as Serie A resumed amid stringent new security checks.

Italy's most famous stadium was at risk of being closed to spectators for AC Milan's match against Livorno after being named earlier this week as one of 12 Serie A grounds that failed to meet safety regulations.

It was given a reprieve late yesterday, however, after the installation of 28 new electronic turnstiles, though only Milan's 37,000 season ticket holders were allowed in.

Police checked identity cards, searched bags and frisked fans before they passed through the turnstiles on their way into the game, in which Brazilian striker Ronaldo was expected to make his debut for Milan after transferring from Real Madrid last month.

No-one complained about the checks, though not everyone was convinced that the new measures, introduced following the death of policeman Filippo Raciti during rioting at a Serie A match between Catania and Palermo last week, would curb the violence.

''I don't think this will make a difference because anything can happen outside the stadium,'' Milan fan Emilia Zanaboni said, pointing out that Raciti was killed outside Catania's Massimino stadium.

The atmosphere was more relaxed at Rome's Olympic Stadium, where Roma were taking on Parma.

The ground, which used to be plagued by violence, was fitted with an outer ring of fencing and electronic turnstiles last year and was one of six Serie A stadiums judged to conform to the security regulations earlier this week.

Asked whether the new measures would prove a turning-point in Italy's long fight against hooliganism, Roma supporter Loredana Giuzio replied: ''Let's hope so, though we will have to see whether the laws are applied.

''The laws have existed for ages, but the problem in Italy is that they are never acted on. No one is ever punished.'' Another Roma fan, Pompea Esposito, said the violence had deterred fans from bringing their families.

''We always bring our kids to the stadiums, but there have been fewer and fewer of them because of the violence,'' she said.

In Catania, meanwhile, police laid flowers in memory of Raciti outside the Massimino stadium.

''The best way to remember Filippo and Filippo's sacrifice is to restart in a different manner,'' said Raciti's colleague Enrico Corso.

''We need to restart with serious regulations to make people understand that sport has a different value. It cannot be as we saw on that tragic weekend.'' Reuters DH DB2108