Five United fans were stabbed in fighting before the final group game between the two sides in Italy as a further depressing chapter was added to the the history of violence involving the Rome club.
Eighteen travelling United supporters needed hospital treatment in April after clashes on the terraces outside the city's Stadio Olimpico Stadium, while three Middlesbrough fans were stabbed and many others injured as trouble flared the night before their UEFA Cup clash with Roma in March last year.
Councillor McLuckie, chairman of Cleveland Police Authority, was among those caught up in the violence that night and is an outspoken critic of the way the Roman authorities have dealt with football hooliganism.
The Stadio Olimpico is due to host the final of the Champions League in 2009 and, in the wake of the latest incidents, Mr McLuckie believes the time has now come for UEFA to act.
Ban
Mr McLuckie said: "Roma should be banned from these competitions. They should not be allowed to enter from the start because the authorities are not able to look after the people who come to their city to watch football.
"They should just be banned from European football. They should not be involved in the Champions League or the UEFA Cup, and that should be the case until they clean up their act."
English clubs suffered just that fate in the wake of the Heysel tragedy, and Mr McLuckie believes the way British police have subsequently dealt with football hooliganism could be of use to the Italian authorities.
He said: "We are the experts, sadly, because we needed to be.
"We have a real grip on this kind of thing and I know the British police would be happy to give the Italian authorities and help they require in tackling this issue.
"At the end of the day, the authorities in Rome have failed to keep control of these fans time after time after time, and the Italian authorities as a whole must get in there.
"Here in this country, we do raids on known hooligans before away matches and before big international matches and we stop those individuals travelling.
"They must be more proactive in the way they deal with football hooliganism.
Attack
"When people travel to Rome, they don't expect to be attacked and they certainly don't expect to be stabbed, but this is becoming the norm.
"I wouldn't go back there. I love football and I have travelled all over to watch it, but I wouldn't go back to the place.
"The very least you are going to get is a beating - and to try to stem the some of the problems, the authorities take the away fans and treat them worse than animals."
Much of the trouble in Rome has been laid firmly at the feet of the club's notorious Ultras.
However, Mr McLuckie admits that, whoever is responsible, it is only by chance that a British fan has not been killed in the city and has called on the Italian Government to step in.
He said: "I am absolutely astounded that so far, no-one is dead - but it will not be long before it happens.
"A few weeks ago when the police officer accidentally shot a fan, they rioted in the streets as if they were saying, 'We will do what we want and how dare you try to stop us and kill one of us?'
"Until the authorities make a real crackdown on the people responsible instead of allowing them to riot in the streets as they did a short few weeks ago and take control of their city, this is going to happen time and time again.
"It is not the Rome authorities who need to do this now, it is the Italian authorities from the very top who need to address this situation now." Tweet
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Ban will never happen, but look at teh picture the first copper is wearing jeans, last season we saw a number of "coppers" in jeans and wearing Roma scarfs covering their faces under the riot helmets. Are they really police or the Italian Cowards known as Ultras dressing up to hit opposition fans.
more chance of platting fog; look at ac milan last year...booted out then there president[who just happens to be prime minister intervenes] and voila!! Nuff said really listen to a jimmy greaves story about the violence then in the early sixties...40 years later who remains the only nation to be kicked out? Statistically the english clubs fans arent even in the top 10 for violence anymore; but expecta fine for united fans behaviour in the violent way they threw themselves onto the knifes of the gentle italian fans!!
Funny fans of the other teams in this group seemed to have no problems in Rome. Same goes for last season. The problem always seems to be with travelling English fans. Of course it's never their fault. lol
There is usually no trouble with other nations' fans with the Italians as it is the notorious Brits that they want to try out even though hooliganism has been almost a non-issue in the UK for a decade ..... Plus the Roma fans are not much better than their police either ;-)
I totally endorse the police chief's suggestion to ban whichever club is not able to guarantee safety for traveling fans. Unfortunately this is not only Roma's problem as it's become a national disease in most of Italy spurred on by fascist elements and an inept and pathetic police force who do not have the guts to control their hooligan compatriots.
stick to your maple leaf soup, chimp!
If an English side makes the 2009 final it'll be a disaster waiting to a happen !
Elio,
I don't imagine that either Sporting or Dynamo were able to take too many travelling fans.
Nor would their teams have been considered much of a threat. Knifing Utd fans obviously carries more Kudos for them - especially after getting drubbed 7-1 by Utd last season.
I have been over there and witnessed how the police behave towards foreign fans have you????????
Were there also English fans there when Italian fans brought the country to a standstil a few weeks ago because if there were I didn't catch that on the news?
But hey, please carry on with your stereo-typing from a few thousand miles away.
Eloi
Did you actually read the article? No fans from elsewhere have problems - obviously Middlesborough is part of Manchester.
I was there last night and although it was better than last year but there were groups of Italian fans obviously looking for trouble outside the ground.
One simple step needed, and it would have been done in the UK, would be to station police cars and officers and cctv along the infamous bridge.
We would then see who was to blame, the police officers would need to be identififed and there would be real evidence to back any arrests etc up.
The fact that this does not happen tells anyone with any common sense what is really going on.
elio remember the leeds fans stabbed as well as man u fans,get a grip and go and watch ice hockey.
Theres no violence at any english club any more when other teams from foreign clubs arrive to watch their teams.
Oh and woman play hockey in the uk.