Lazio players wear Anne Frank shirts amid outcry over anti-Semitic abuse

Lazio players wear Anne Frank shirts amid www.google.comoutcry over anti-Semitic abuse

 

Lazio players wore shirts with the face of Anne Frank before their match on Wednesday night, days after their fans used images of the Holocaust victim to taunt rival supporters.

The Italian team's ultras sparked outrage on Sunday, as fans at the Stadio Olimpico distributed stickers which showed the girl in a Roma shirt along with anti-Semitic messages.
In response, the club organised trips to Auschwitz and a local synagogue, while Lazio players wore Anne Frank t-shirts with the words "No to anti-Semitism" before their 2-1 win over Bologna on Wednesday.
Lazio's right-wing ultras, who are being investigated by police, boycotted the tie in Bologna "to avoid being complicit in this media theatre".
At the request of the Italian Football Federation, extracts of Anne Frank's diary and Italian Jewish writer Primo Levi's memoir If This Is A Man were read out before all of Wednesday's Serie A fixtures.
The tribute was followed by a minute's applause in most stadiums, but the readings were marred by some Juventus ultras who turned their backs to the pitch and sang the Italian national anthem.
Meanwhile, some Roma fans attempted to drown out the readings by singing club chants.
On Tuesday, Italian President Sergio Mattarella described the anti-Semitic stickers left at the Stadio Olimpico as "alarming", adding that the use of Anne Frank's image was "an insult and threat".
He called for those responsible to be identified and permanently banned from stadiums.
Police have identified 16 suspects, including three minors, according to Italian media.

Lazio players wear a shirt depicting Anne Frank

Lazio club president Claudio Lotito insisted his side should not be punished for "the behaviour of 15 idiots".
He said: "It would be wrong for the team to be docked points as we'd become hostage to these people going to the stadium just to create chaos.
"It's necessary to suppress and sanction the perpetrators. I hope what's happened doesn't impact on the team psychologically."
It is not the first time Lazio's ultras have sparked an outcry.
At a game in 1998, fans unfurled a banner aimed at Roma supporters which read: "Auschwitz is your homeland, the ovens are your homes."
And in February the club was sanctioned after ultras subjected Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly to racist abuse.