Fiorentina released an open letter to the families of the Heysel victims to apologise for their fans insulting Juventus fans.
The chants against the supporters who were killed in the incident in May 1985 have been a very ugly recurring motif for a certain section of the Fiorentina fans.
Ahead of last week’s Serie A match at the Stadio Franchi, posters were put on the walls that read: ‘-39, no respect.’
Juventus responded this weekend with a huge banner: ‘+39, respect!’
Fiorentina released an open letter to the families of the Heysel victims to apologise for their fans insulting Juventus fans.
The chants against the supporters who were killed in the incident in May 1985 have been a very ugly recurring motif for a certain section of the Fiorentina fans.
Ahead of last week’s Serie A match at the Stadio Franchi, posters were put on the walls that read: ‘-39, no respect.’
Juventus responded this weekend with a huge banner: ‘+39, respect!’
Now Fiorentina have released an open letter on their website aimed directly at the Association of the Families of Heysel Victims.
“We read your note regarding the shameful incidents outside the Stadio Franchi ahead of the Fiorentina-Juventus game on January 15.
“We are sincerely sorry and offended by what happened, but want to make clear that our club has always been on the front line with activities, behaviour and initiatives to condemn any type of racial discrimination, written or verbal violence that aims to limit or worse remove the rights of others.
“In this specific case, we wish to make clear that as soon as we were informed of the incident, we took every procedure with the authorities to clarify the situation. It was not the responsibility of our security staff, because it happened outside the stadium.
“This gesture is certainly to be condemned, but what happened outside the stadium cannot be blamed on an entire fanbase or an entire city, which has always shown over time and with concrete action its sensibility when it comes to painful events.
“Our fans behaved correctly throughout the game (as confirmed by the report from the authorities). We are certain that with the collaboration of all the components and severe punishment against such vile actions, we can end these manifestations of incivility and idiocy.”