Roma President James Pallotta protested at the Curva Sud closure over offensive banners. “Everyone shouldn’t pay for a few idiots.”
The ban and a €12,000 fine were imposed after several banners mocking the mother of murdered Napoli fan Ciro Esposito, accusing her of profiteering from her son’s death at the hands of a drunken Roma supporter.
Roma President James Pallotta protested at the Curva Sud closure over offensive banners. “Everyone shouldn’t pay for a few idiots.”
The ban and a €12,000 fine were imposed after several banners mocking the mother of murdered Napoli fan Ciro Esposito, accusing her of profiteering from her son’s death at the hands of a drunken Roma supporter.
“Well, you know I hope you listen very carefully and translate this correctly word for word but, you know, look, we are incredibly frustrated and disappointed in some of the actions,” President Pallotta told Roma Radio.
“We just don’t really have the power in the stadium to stop all of this. We had stewards inside the stadium with no real authority.
“We did take away some of the banners – whatever banners that we did see outside before the game, our stewards did – but at the end of the day the security inside have to choose to take action and we don’t control that security inside.
“But in spite of that, it’s just not fair for all of our fans to be tarnished by a few ****ing idiots and ***holes that hang out in the Curva Sud, and I’m sure that the vast majority of Roma supporters are sick and tired of these fools, and it’s up to all of us together – not just in Rome but in Italy – to put an end to their antics.
“It’s time we put an end to their antics. We are doing a lot of good things with Roma Cares against bullying and violence and racism, and we’ll continue to do that and we’re working very hard at this, sometimes fairly quietly.
“I am pledging right now $1m to Roma Cares to continue to combat this bull**** that’s going on in Rome by a few and in Italy by a few, and I’m hoping that we get others to contribute for educational programs to stop all of this ****.”
The lawyer of Antonella Leardi, the mother of Esposito, had called for a five-point penalty and today said it was “scandalous” that only the Curva Sud was closed for one match.