Driver dies after Pistoia bus pelted with stones and bricks in post-match highway attack.The second driver of a bus carrying fans of the Pistoia A2 basketball team died on Sunday night after a highway attack by fans of the rival Sebastiani Basketball team from Rieti.The man, who was sitting at the front of the bus beside the driver, was killed after being hit on the head by a brick, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The attack occurred on the Rieti-Terni highway, about 80 km north-east of Rome, after Sebastiani fans pelted the bus with stones as it was leaving Rieti after a match in the second-tier A2 league. Emergency services, along with several police and Carabinieri patrols, responded immediately however attempts to save the man's life were unsuccessful. Political reaction In a post on X, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the “unacceptable and insane act of violence”. The premier offered her “deepest condolences to the victim's family and my closeness to those who witnessed this tragedy”, adding: “I trust that those responsible for this cowardly and criminal act will be identified and swiftly brought to justice”. A police investigation is under way in an attempt to track down those responsible for the attack, described as "shocking" by Italy's sports minister Andrea Abodi, who expressed his condolences to the man's family. "How can someone die like this, on their way home from a basketball game?" - Abodi wrote on X - "It is shocking the attack perpetrated tonight near Rieti by hoodlums turned into killers and who can never be called fans. Sport is life, and these criminals are light years away from sporting values." "The entire Rieti community condemns with indignation this despicable act that has nothing to do with Rieti or sports," the town's mayor Daniele Sinibaldi wrote on social media, expressing the hope "that the circumstances of the incident will be immediately ascertained and full justice will be served." Reaction from teams Pistoia Basket 2000 said in a statement that it had "learned with dismay of the death of one of the two drivers on duty on a bus transporting red and white fans returning from the away game in Rieti."  "In light of the initial reports that have emerged, and pending official judicial findings," the statement reads, "the Club expresses its shock at the circumstances that led to the accident. President Joseph David and the entire Club extend their condolences to the driver's family and share in his loved ones' grief." "What happened tonight at the end of the match against Estra Pistoia leaves us shocked" - Sebastiani Rieti said in a statement - "The bus carrying visiting fans, on its way home, was subjected to an unspeakable act: it was hit by a stone pelting, resulting in the death of one of the bus drivers."  "Sebastiani completely dissociates itself from what happened and expresses its deepest condolences and sympathy to the family of the tragically deceased driver" - the club stated - "This is a very serious matter, and the investigators, in whom we have full confidence, will shed light on it. We find ourselves talking about facts that have nothing to do with sport, and are completely distant from the values we strive to uphold every day as a club."

The second driver of a bus carrying fans of the Pistoia A2 basketball team died on Sunday night after a highway attack by fans of the rival Sebastiani Basketball team from Rieti. The man, who was sitting at the front of the bus beside the driver, was killed after being hit on the head by a brick, according to Italian news agency ANSA. The attack occurred on the Rieti-Terni highway, about 80 km north-east of Rome, after Sebastiani fans pelted the bus with stones as it was leaving Rieti after a match in the second-tier A2 league. Emergency services, along with several police and Carabinieri patrols, responded immediately however attempts to save the man's life were unsuccessful. Political reaction In a post on X, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the “unacceptable and insane act of violence”. The premier offered her “deepest condolences to the victim's family and my closeness to those who witnessed this tragedy”, adding: “I trust that those responsible for this cowardly and criminal act will be identified and swiftly brought to justice”. A police investigation is under way in an attempt to track down those responsible for the attack, described as "shocking" by Italy's sports minister Andrea Abodi, who expressed his condolences to the man's family. "How can someone die like this, on their way home from a basketball game?" - Abodi wrote on X - "It is shocking the attack perpetrated tonight near Rieti by hoodlums turned into killers and who can never be called fans. Sport is life, and these criminals are light years away from sporting values." "The entire Rieti community condemns with indignation this despicable act that has nothing to do with Rieti or sports," the town's mayor Daniele Sinibaldi wrote on social media, expressing the hope "that the circumstances of the incident will be immediately ascertained and full justice will be served." Reaction from teams Pistoia Basket 2000 said that it had "learned with dismay of the death of one of the two drivers on duty on a bus transporting red and white fans returning from the away game in Rieti."  "In light of the initial reports that have emerged, and pending official judicial findings," the statement reads, "the Club expresses its shock at the circumstances that led to the accident. President Joseph David and the entire Club extend their condolences to the driver's family and share in his loved ones' grief." "What happened tonight at the end of the match against Estra Pistoia leaves us shocked" - Sebastiani Rieti said - "The bus carrying visiting fans, on its way home, was subjected to an unspeakable act: it was hit by a stone pelting, resulting in the death of one of the bus drivers."  "Sebastiani completely dissociates itself from what happened and expresses its deepest condolences and sympathy to the family of the tragically deceased driver" - the club stated - "This is a very serious matter, and the investigators, in whom we have full confidence, will shed light on it. We find ourselves talking about facts that have nothing to do with sport, and are completely distant from the values we strive to uphold every day as a club."