Rome - Thousands of football fans rallied Saturday in Rome to protest against the introduction of a card to regulate access to games, Italian media reported.

Police said that about 5,000 fans from various clubs met in the capital. None of them carried flags from their teams.

The Ministry of the interior plans to introduce the card in January, asking the clubs to identify their fans and banning those who were involved in violence.

There has been opposition from clubs like Torino, whose president Urbano Cairo said the initiative will cause a loss of fans at the stadium, with lukewarm reactions from other clubs. (dpa)