Football authorities will close the away section of the San Siro for next Thursday's Italian Cup quarter-final between Inter and Juventus because of the high risk of crowd violence.

The away fan areas will also be closed for Roma's home match against Catania in the Cup next week and Palermo's visit to Bari in Serie A on Jan. 30, Italy's anti-hooligan committee said yesterday.

The intense rivalry between Juve and Inter has become especially tense recently, with Juve fans repeatedly subjecting Inter's Mario Balotelli, an Italy U-21 forward of Ghanaian descent, to racial abuse.

A section of Turin's Stadio Olimpico will be closed during Juve's Serie A match against Roma tomorrow after their fans sang "there are no black Italians" in last week's 3-0 win over Napoli in the Cup. The same chant cost Juve a stadium ban last season.

The committee said fans would be able to buy only one ticket each for Juve's home league game against Lazio on January 31.

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