187 injured in Rome street battles

Police are investigating the riot which resulted in 153 officers and 34 fans being hurt after last night's abandonment of the Roma-Lazio derby.

False rumours spread that a child had been run over and killed by a police car, leading to chants of "murderers".

Both sets of players gathered in the centre circle while two Roma fans climbed security fences to tell Roma captain Francesco Totti the rumour.

A shocked Totti spoke to Lazio captain Sinisa Mihajlovic and agreed they could not play on.

The referee telephoned the Italian FA and was told to call off the match. The stadium announcers tried to assure the crowd no one had died, but outside the ground running battles broke out as rival fans combined to attack the police, leading to widespread damage.

Police suspect that the stunt had been organised, with one official saying: "It's becoming apparent this was all arranged before the start of the match."