All Serie A players, coaches and referees sport a red mark on their cheeks as part of the campaign combating violence against women, while the captains also read out a statement.
This is an annual campaign called ‘show violence towards women the red card’ and represents a lipstick mark.
However, this year the message has an added level of significance, as this weekend there are marches in cities all over Italy in protest at what has become a genuine epidemic of young women being murdered by their former partners.
The most recent was only this week, 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettin, killed by her ex-boyfriend.
Data from the Italian interior ministry shows 106 women have been murdered this year and 55 of them were by their current or former partners.
There is a hotline to call for anyone being stalked or harassed, with demands for police and the Government to do more to prevent crimes that too often were seen coming.
Unlike previous years, the captains of the two teams also read out a statement before every Serie A match reiterating that “it is no longer enough to just say I am different, that I am not like that, we must unite to combat violence against women.”
Tous contre la violence à l’égard des femmes