Of course there is a difference between fans and hooligans, between tifosi and ultraas the Italians say. Even with Lazio. And maybe what is getting the Lazio supporters going so much is, in the end, the prelude to a healthy, internal cleanup. Although: it is not very likely.
Lazio will play in the Europa League against Olympique Marseille, away, in France this Thursday evening. Nobody is allowed to travel, the guest sector in the Stade Vélodrome remains closed. And so far everything is okay. Two weeks ago, when the Marseillais competed in Rome, it was like that: the curves of the two supporters don’t like each other, it has to do with politics. The Ultras of the Lazio are – and you have to be careful here – in stately, at least not insignificant numbers, fascist-minded.
In the multicultural curves of the Vélodrome, in the Virage Nord and the Virage Sud, they tend to lean towards the extreme left, at least most of them. They are hotheads too. Three years ago, when the two teams were battling it out in this competition, two hundred hooligans from OM and Lazio were fighting in the streets of Marseille. Knives were used, there were injuries. That is why it was found that this time it would be wiser if no tickets were given to the guests.
The falconer had to be suspended – he greeted with an outstretched arm
The indignation of the Laziali was sparked by an order that came from Paris, from the French Ministry of the Interior. It says that supporters of Lazio who see themselves as such or identify themselves as such will not be allowed to cross the borders into France on November 3rd and 4th: neither by car, train or ship or the plane. And anyone who is already in France is not allowed to step on the soil of Marseille and the surrounding area. The Ministry cites “the violent behavior of certain Lazio fans who regularly cause problems in the cities and around the stadiums where the games are played” as the reason for this rather exaggeratedly comprehensive entry ban. And now comes the “habit of joining fascist choirs and doing the Nazi salute”.
Now it can hardly be denied that ultras from the Curva Nord sing fascist choirs and perform the “Saluto romano”. There are enough moving pictures of it on the net, with audio. The other day the club’s falconer – the Spaniard Juan Bernabé, who had his eagle before home games Olimpia sailed through the Roman Olympic Stadium – be suspended from duty. Bernabé had responded to the ultras who were intoning “Duce, Duce” as he passed the curve with the innocent, symbolically but not exactly unambiguous animal on his left arm, with the Hitler salute.
Laziali from all parties in the Italian parliament were upset
Also significant is the story of Elseid Hysaj, the Albanian right-back who came from SSC Napoli last summer. In a private video he was seen singing “Bella Ciao”, the anti-fascist anthem. The ultras didn’t like that, they hung a banner on a bridge that read: “Hysaj, you worm. Lazio is fascist!” Drawn Ultras Lazio, plus a stylized bundle of lictors, a power symbol of fascism. There was then a counter-movement, started by non-ideological fans of Lazio, who signed the hashtag “IoStoConHysaj” on social media: I stand by Hysaj’s side.
Such supporters now feel flatly and unheard ofly denigrated by the government decree from Paris. In other words, lumped together in one big pot. It is said that you are treated like terrorists. Giovanna Botteri, a famous TV correspondent for the Rai, was outraged in public: “I am Laziale,” she said, “but I am neither a fascist nor a violent person”.
Laziali from all parties in the Italian parliament were upset. The opposition party Fratelli d’Italia protested the loudest. Its leader, the Roman Giorgia Meloni, called on the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to use all means of diplomacy to defend himself. The “brothers of Italy”, you have to know, are post-fascists. In her party emblem, a flame in the colors of Italy flickers on a black coffin. It symbolizes the fire that for nostalgic Benito Mussolini still burns in the grave of the fascist leader. Well, such advocates are not a blessing either.