Last week's Euro qualifier between Italy and Serbia in Genoa was abandoned after six minutes when Italian authorities failed to stop away fans throwing flares while trouble in Naples marred Napoli's 0-0 Europa League draw with Liverpool on Thursday.
Italy has worked hard to reduce violence since a policeman was killed by a rioting fan in Sicily in 2007. But after missing out on hosting Euro 2012 and 2016 partly because of the problem their chances of holding a big tournament are bleak.
"Offering a risk-free environment is extraordinarily important. They won't host anything for a long time," Patrick Nally, co-founder of sports marketing firm West Nally and a key advisor to FIFA, told Reuters.
"The whole violence issue comes and goes but now it's an issue that needs to be sorted again."
A new anti-hooligan body was set up and away travel to matches is strictly controlled, although Interior Minister Roberto Maroni's plan to make fans carry an electronic card which tracks movement has met opposition from supporters.
Wednesday's perpetrators, who reports say were carrying knifes and bats, were not necessarily Napoli fans and were just youths looking for a fight -- as occasionally also happens outside the Rome's Olimpico Stadium which successfully hosted the 2009 Champions League final.
The fact the game was arguably Napoli's most glamorous encounter in nearly two decades increased the over-excitement of the community while English and Liverpool fans are still remembered for the hooliganism of the 1980s by many Italians.
"Our fans did not come here to get drunk but to watch the game," Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson told reporters. "Instead they've been ambushed and luckily nothing tragic happened."
