TROUBLE ON THE TERRACES

Internazionale's Champions League quarter-final against their city rivals Milan was abandoned last night amid violent scenes after the Rossoneri goalkeeper Dida was struck by a flare thrown from the stands in the 73rd minute.

The German referee Markus Merk temporarily suspended the game at San Siro when the Inter supporters began hurling plastic bottles and then flares on to the pitch after Esteban Cambiasso's disallowed equaliser.

The Brazil international Dida received treatment to first-degree burns on his shoulder while the Inter players urged their fans to stop the bombardment.

The teams came back on to the field after 25 minutes but Merk took them straight off again when more flares came raining down with no sign of intervention from the police.

"The referee took the right decision," said the Milan captain Paolo Maldini. "I was surprised that he tried to restart the game but it was good because so many supporters had paid to watch."

Merk will now submit his report to the Uefa control and disciplinary body which will deal with the case. Milan, who were leading 1-0 after a first-half goal from Andriy Shevchenko that had put them 3-0 up on aggregate, have been awarded the game and will meet the winner of tonight's match between PSV and Lyon because their supporters were blameless for the outbreak of violence.

Police in Turin have been put on maximum alert for tonight's Champions League match between Juventus and Liverpool, amid continuing concern that Italian hooligans are planning violent attacks on English supporters.

Throughout today 1,000 officers will be on duty at the Stadio delle Alpi and patrolling the city centre to thwart threats from Italian Ultras to take revenge on the visitors for the 1985 Heysel disaster in which 39 Juventus supporters died after English hooligans rioted.

The head of the city's undercover police, Giuseppe Petronzi, admitted that his greatest concern was containing events during the day in the city centre's many narrow side streets and small squares.

In a rare public statement he told the Turin sports daily Tuttosport: "We can't close down a city of 1 million people, but we are advising English supporters to stay in groups and not to stray from the city centre and not to rise to any provocations."