The FIGC has officially confirmed that Lazio will not face a stadium closure after fans left Anne Frank stickers in Roma’s Curva Sud.
It was reported earlier today that the Biancocelesti would escape with just a €50,000 fine, and the Italian FA has now confirmed that decision, as well as releasing its reasoning.
The report notes that the Prosecutor had asked for a two-game stadium closure, and a €50,000 fine for the club.
The FIGC has officially confirmed that Lazio will not face a stadium closure after fans left Anne Frank stickers in Roma’s Curva Sud.
It was reported earlier today that the Biancocelesti would escape with just a €50,000 fine, and the Italian FA has now confirmed that decision, as well as releasing its reasoning.
The report notes that the Prosecutor had asked for a two-game stadium closure, and a €50,000 fine for the club.
He stated that the stickers were placed in the Curva Sud with “clear anti-Semitic intent, constituting discriminatory behaviour”.
Lazio presented no defence statement today, but had previously submitted that very few people were involved, the stickers were very small and so could not be detected by club observers, and that they were only found the following day, so weren’t seen during the game.
In their findings, the FIGC stated that placing a holocaust victim in a Roma shirt in the Curva Sud was “highly detrimental to the principles and values which must necessarily come with sport”.
It was found that the stickers were “clearly aimed at mocking the opposing supporters, with an absurd and outrageous reference to the Jewish religion”.
Lazio submitted that the acts were carried out by 13 people, all of whom had been subjected to banning orders, but the investigation found this may have been as high as 20.
In any case, the FIGC found, it was a small number of people in relation to the number in the Curva Sud during the match against Cagliari.
Nonetheless, part of the inquiry sought to ascertain whether or not Lazio had taken all reasonable steps to prevent incidents of this nature occurring.
Strict liability is in place in Italian football, so clubs are responsible for the behaviour of their supporters in the stadium.
However, sanctions will be lessened if clubs can prove they took steps to prevent the behaviour for which they are being sanctioned.
In that regard the Federation found in Lazio’s favour, stating that the club “put in place all appropriate measures as required by current regulations, to ensure effective control measures”.
Moreover, they found that “the stickers taken into the stadium were so small that, even using the utmost diligence, they’d have escaped the safety checks which, as correctly observed, can’t carry out corporal searches on fans”.
Given the low number of fans who took part, it was held that their actions “could not have been prevented”.
That does not, however, absolve the Biancocelesti of all responsibility, but the FIGC opted not to close the stadium as “in this way almost all of Lazio's fans would be penalized for the behavior of a few people, suffering financial damage resulting from the lack of opportunity to attend the games of their favourite team, especially for those who are in possession of a season ticket”.
Closing the stadium would be “extremely penalising for the ordinary fans who would be held hostage to the very few pseudo fans and could indeed give these few people further satisfaction in finding out how much their behavior is able to condition an entire fan base”.
As such the FIGC imposed only the €50,000 fine requested by the prosecutor.