I know it sounds like beating a dead horse, but with the recent salute incident by Di Canio, again. Let's get to the bottom of this, I know that Italy and many leagues in Europe suffer from racism, but seems like Lazio is in the news all the time. Is it justified or does the Italian press go looking for this stuff? Is there any evidence of Lazio supporters coming out against racism? If Lazio supporters are truly right-wing/Fascists/racists, then how do they treat their own? Are there ever racists chants or signs against there own black or politically undesirable players?? How do you explain these players being on Lazio? Igli Tare (Albanian) Valon Behrami (Kosovo) I thought Laziali were very pro-Serb with chants for Arkan and Milosevic...and undying love for Miha. Gaby Mudingayi (don't know his country, but he is Black!) Ousmane Dabo (Black, as well) I thought the Lazio Ultras had a lot of pull with management because they are so organized. Do they demand or complain about these players being on Lazio???
Its a bit of a dead horse as we've talked about most of this in the past. Lets leave the current Di Canio talk for that thread in this forum. No question Lazio's past actions will forever brand them a club supported by racists....it doesnt matter if its just part of the curva nord, it brands us all. For some lazy journalists its an easy target. It doesnt appear like Tare or Behrami have ever had any trouble and Dabo and Liverani are among the best and most popular players. Thats part of the stupidity, a team with several black stars has fans in its stands heckling the visiting black players. In the mid-90s black dutch midfield Aaron Winter had a horrible time at Lazio, as when he performed bad he was treated terribly. This and a protest from the IRR led to the infamous Thuram story, where the frenchman walked away from Lazio after verbally agreeing a deal. I have no patience for fans/players that are racists/facists. Its even more stupid to do these things in the stadium where you cost the club: money, matches, its reputation and the ability to sign new players.
I can't remember the crowd ever booing or denouncing fascist/racist songs or banners. There was a group of antifa ultras that called themselves the Dissenti and were trying to change the image of the Curva Nord through a website. They never had any presence in the curva and I'm not sure if they're even around anymore.
What I just saw in the Lecce game, with a group of Lazio supporters giving the nazi/fascist salute, was disgusting. My heart goes out to any and all fans of Lazio who see this for what it is and are humiliated.
The fact is that Europe, not just Italy, is in a frightening period of racism against various ethnicities and races. This is happening in England, Germany, France....you name the nation and its happening. This bothers me because I am a first generation Italian-American and the Italian people have always been very accepting and respectful of other peoples. Even during World War II and the Fascist leadership of Mussolini, nearly all Italians were secretly against the racism taught to them by "Il Duce" through Hitler's influence. Sadly enough they pretended to be behind Mussolini because the man was a dangerous lunatic and they feared him. I can't speak for the new generation of Italians, but this behavior is something new and very disheartening.