Police officers tried to restore order, but the crowd shifted their aim away from the event center and onto the policemen.  As rocks rained down on the policemen, they called for backup.  As the number of policemen at the event center increased, so did the number of rioters.  Reporters at the time estimated that another 2,000 more people joined in the riot against the policemen.  Finally, police reinforcements arrived.  With no other non-lethal option available to them, the officers fired tear gas into the crowd.  The rioters held out as long as they could but were ultimately forced to withdraw.   

When the riot was over, seven policemen and an unknown number of rioters were injured.  Policemen arrested 63 rioters.  Although the Palazzo Dello Sportin suffered several smashed windows during the riot, most of the people inside were too occupied by the event to be aware of it.  The battle between the angry mob and policemen had a soundtrack which may have fueled the rioters.  Ironically, one of the songs the rioters and policemen heard was “Street Fighting Man”.  On that Friday night in 1970 in Milan, Italy, an otherwise peaceful crowd became violent when they were turned away from a concert by…the Rolling Stones.  

Source:

1. Evening Standard (London, England), October 2, 1970, p.18.