Palermo win stormy derby

Palermo's win over Catania in the Sicilian derby was marred by crowd trouble.

Controversial goals from Andrea Caracciolo and David di Michele gave Palermo the spoils, but the game was held up for 30 minutes after trouble in the stands with tear gas and fireworks thrown onto the pitch.

There was also trouble between both sets of fans before and after the match outside the stadium.

After a quiet first half the game burst into life on 55 minutes when Palermo broke the deadlock against the run of play.

Mark Bresciano created the goal when he fed Caracciolo inside the box and the big striker slotted home even though he appeared to be in an offside position.

The trouble erupted two minutes after the goal when Palermo fans were finally allowed into the ground and tear gas was thrown at them forcing the referee to take both sets of players off the pitch.

After a lengthy delay the game restarted and within a minute of the restart Catania drew level with a superb volley from Fabio Caserta.

Palermo grabbed the winner seven minutes from time in more controversial circumstances.

Di Michele appeared to handle the ball inside the box when collecting a pass, but the referee allowed the forward to play on and he netted from close-range.

The win helps Palermo close the gap on the top two, but the game is sure to be investigated by the Italian Football Federation as a result of the crowd trouble.