The head of a police authority in England believes Roma should be thrown out of European football after experiencing at first hand similar trouble to that which marred their Champions League clash with Manchester United last night.

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 Stadio Olimpico Stadium, while three Middlesbrough fans were stabbed and many others injured as trouble flared the night before their Uefa Cup match with Roma in March 2006.

Councillor Dave McLuckie, chairman of Cleveland Police Authority, was among supporters from the North East 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 take sanctions.

“Roma should be banned from these competitions," he said. "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.

“We are the experts, sadly, because we needed to be,” McLuckie said. “We have a real grip on this kind of thing and I know the British police would be happy to give the Italian authorities any 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. 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.”