Lazio are trying to rid themselves of the reputation for far right supporting fans and eagle trainers, so calling up Benito Mussolini’s great-grandson for the game against Hellas Verona will not help.
Coach Maurizio Sarri is forced to reshuffle his squad for tomorrow’s Serie A match, as Francesco Acerbi and Luiz Felipe both sit out bans.
Mattia Zaccagni is also on the treatment table, so Sarri has opted to bulk up his group with youth team player Romano Floriani Mussolini.
The 18-year-old defender is the great-grandson of Italian World War II Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and the son of controversial politician Alessandra Mussolini.
This is his first call-up to the senior Lazio squad for a Serie A match and he should be on the bench.
Inevitably, the timing of this call will raise a few eyebrows, because it comes just days after eagle trainer Juan Bernabé was suspended by Lazio for making a fascist salute to fans and repeatedly shouting ‘Duce, Duce, Duce’ – referring to Benito Mussolini.