Thousands of mourners gathered in Rome on Wednesday for the funeral of football fan Gabriele Sandri, 26, after paying their respects to his casket on Tuesday.

Soccer fans put up a banner demanding "Justice for Gabriele" outside the church. He was shot in Arezzo, Tuscany, by a policeman who says his gun went off accidentally.

"I've hardly finished dreaming / And now alone / I've started taking you to victory / Always with us / Goodbye Gabri," reads the passage next to this mural of the tragic Lazio fan.

Gabriele's father Giorgio (bottom left) and brother Cristiano (bottom right) were among the pall bearers at the end of the service at San Pio X church. Mourners applauded the coffin.

Fans of different football teams put aside their rivalry for the funeral.

Lazio coach Delio Rossi (centre), players, politicians and government ministers were among the mourners. But at the request of the Sandri family, the police stayed away.

During the service, Cristiano Sandri told the congregation: "See how people have come in large numbers for you, how they love you. Your smile will never be erased."

Sunday's killing sparked a string of violent clashes between football fans and police. "Another cursed Sunday," reads this newspaper headline.