• Coach driver struck by brick while transporting basketball fans.
• The victim died as fans were returning from Pistoia Basket’s win over Sebastiani Basket Rieti.

An Italian coach driver was killed after being hit by a brick during an attack on basketball fans by supporters of a rival team.

Raffaele Marianella, 65, died late Sunday night following the assault on Pistoia Basket supporters from Tuscany, who were returning home after their team defeated Sebastiani Basket Rieti in the Italian second-division basketball league.

Italian media widely reported that Sebastiani Basket Rieti fans carried out the attack.

Italy’s sports minister, Andrea Abodi, condemned the incident: "The assault carried out tonight by hooligans, who have become killers and could never be called fans, is deeply disturbing. Sport is life and these criminals are light years away from the values of sport."

The attack occurred on the main road between Terni and Rieti, about 80 kilometers north of Rome.

A brick shattered the bus’s windshield and struck Marianella. Emergency services were unable to revive him upon arrival.