Rome - Six people were arrested and a seventh placed under house arrest on Wednesday for beating a man to death in a revenge attack over a football brawl, police said.
They have been accused of illegal possession of firearms and the premeditated murder of Raffaele De Rosa, who was allegedly the victim of a revenge attack following a brawl his brother was involved in during an amateur football match.
In April 2011, De Rosa showed up in a hospital emergency room near Naples with serious injuries, claiming to have been run over by a car. But he refused to be admitted. He died two weeks later.
An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a ruptured spleen. Investigations determined that he had been beaten up in retaliation for the fight involving his brother.
The events took place in an area that is dominated by the Camorra, the Neapolitan branch of the mafia.
Police said several people were present when De Rosa was attacked, including some of his relatives, but they refused to co-operate with the investigation. - Sapa-dpa