Italy bids to counter anti-Semitism
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Italy鈥檚 soccer authorities ruled yesterday that stadiums will hold a minute鈥檚 silence at their next matches while a passage from Anne Frank鈥檚 diary is read out, in response to anti-Semitic stickers posted by Lazio fans.
The stickers of the Holocaust victim wearing the jersey of Lazio鈥檚 city rival AS Roma were found on walls and bathrooms in a section of Rome鈥檚 Olympic Stadium used by Lazio supporters during their Serie A match against Cagliari on Sunday.
The episode drew widespread criticism from Italian politicians and media, with President Sergio Mattarella calling it 鈥渋nhuman and alarming for our country鈥.
At the next match in all Italy鈥檚 soccer divisions a minute鈥檚 silence will be held 鈥渢o condemn the recent episodes of anti-Semitism and to continue to remember the Holocaust鈥, the soccer federation said in a statement.
While the players line up in the center of the pitch a poignant passage from Anne Frank鈥檚 diary will be read out over the loudspeakers.
Episodes of racism are commonplace in Italian soccer and Lazio supporters, who have a reputation for right-wing extremism, have often run into trouble with the authorities.
The team鈥檚 hard-core fans, known as 鈥渦ltras,鈥 left the stickers and anti-Semitic slogans such as 鈥淩oma fans are Jews鈥 in a section of the stadium where Roma supporters usually sit when their team is playing.
The two sides share the same stadium.
Anne Frank was born in Germany but her family fled to the Netherlands to escape the Nazis. They lived in hidden rooms in Amsterdam before they were discovered by German occupiers and deported to concentration camps.
She died in the Bergen-Belsen camp aged 15 and her diary recounting the family鈥檚 time in hiding became a centerpiece of Holocaust literature.
鈥淭he anti-Semitic squalor that prompted some Lazio fans to make fun of even Anne Frank鈥檚 memory is a shameful gesture,鈥 said former Italian premier Matteo Renzi.
鈥淥bviously we鈥檙e talking about a small minority but not shedding light on this news would be a mistake.鈥
With a long stadium ban likely and police having opened a criminal inquiry, Lazio President Claudio Lotito sought yesterday to disassociate the club from its 鈥渦ltra鈥 fans.
During a visit to Rome鈥檚 main synagogue, Lotito said that the Serie A club would intensify its efforts to combat racism and anti-Semitism and organize an annual trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp with some 200 young Lazio fans to 鈥渆ducate them not to forget鈥.
The northern curva (end) of the stadium where Lazio鈥檚 鈥渦ltra鈥 fans usually sit was closed on Sunday for the match with Cagliari, due to racist chanting during a match against Sassuolo earlier this month.
As a result, Lazio decided to open the southern end and let the ultras in where Roma鈥檚 hard-core fans sit for their home matches in the stadium both sides share.
鈥淯nfortunately it鈥檚 something that affects a lot of clubs, a lot of fan groups and a lot of cities. But you can鈥檛 generalize,鈥 Italian Players Association president Damiano Tommasi said in an interview last week looking ahead to the Lazio-Cagliari match.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to educate as much as possible those who go to the stadium for these reasons,鈥 Tommasi added. 鈥淎nd leave them out. Certainly the best solution isn鈥檛 letting them in to another area of the stadium.鈥
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