A man who wore a Lazio shirt with the
name Hitlerson on the back above the number 88, a number
referring to letters "HH" for "Heil Hitler", at Sunday's Rome
derby could be charged under the 1993 Mancino law against
gestures, actions and slogans hailing Nazism or Fascism.
The man has been identified as a German national, thanks to
closed-circuit videos, and has been reported to prosecutors.
Rome police said the same man was charged for involvement in a
pitch invasion during a Rome derby in 2009.
The prosecutors have opened a case for alleged breach of the
Mancino law, which punishes the propaganda of ideas based on
racial or ethnic superiority or hatred, and acts, or instigation
to commit acts, of discrimination for ethnic, racial or
religious reasons with jail terms of up to 18 months and fines
of up to 6,000 euros.
The match, in which Lazio beat AS Roma 1-0, was also marred by
anti-Semitic chants by some Lazio fans.
In the chant, the fans insulted Roma supporters by saying that
they "pray in the synagogue".
Sporting prosecutors are investigating the chants.
The Rome club released a statement condemning the anti-Semitism,
saying it was working with the authorities to "avoid, isolate
and combat these phenomenon".
Lazio, like many Italian teams, has a significant number of
far-right supporters among its fans.
They have been behind a series of shameful acts of racism and
anti-Semitism in the past and have given the club a bad name.
In January the soccer authorities closed the Curva Nord section
of Rome's Stadio Olimpico, where Lazio's hardcore 'ultra' fans
stand, for one match over racist abuse directed at Lecce players
Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda during an away game.
The derby anti-Semitism was also condemned by Lazio e Libertà, a
group of the club's fans who are trying to combat the stereotype
that depicts all the team's supporters as neo-fascists.
"We express our profound disapproval of those who use our
colours to re-evoke the monster of Naziism or the abomination of
anti-Semitism, dressing it up as misunderstood jest," the group
said via Facebook.
"Lazio is not black, it is sky blue".
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