"
The Lazio supporters, gathered in the visitor parking lot, were responsible for almost all of them (about 1,000 of the 1,072 occupants), repeated chants expressing racial discrimination against the players of Lecce Banda and Umtiti
", affirms the Commission, which relied in particular on the report of the arbitrator.
"
This behavior is attributable to Lazio fans, who usually occupy the
'Curva Nord' sector
at the Olympic Stadium in Rome during home matches.
(...) Lazio is sanctioned with a closure of the Curva Nord for one match
“, announces the instance.
The referee of the match, won on Wednesday at home by Lecce (2-1), had been forced to stop the match for a few moments in the second half due to racist cries from the visitor sector targeting Samuel Umtiti, on loan since last summer to Lecce by FC Barcelona.
According to Italian media, other cries were heard in the first half targeting the teammate of the 2018 world champion with France, the Zambian Lameck Banda.
To discover
Serie A standings
Serie A fixtures and results
Read alsoSerie A: Lazio condemns racist cries against Umtiti
Earlier in the afternoon, Lazio had condemned in a statement "
the authors of this despicable, shameful and anachronistic gesture
" and offered, "
as always, its maximum collaboration to the authorities to identify those responsible
".
"
Lazio fans are not racist and cannot be associated with a few individuals who seriously damage the image of the club
," added the Lazio team.
Racist cries are a recurring phenomenon in Italian stadiums, especially from certain Lazio supporters known, for a fringe of them, to maintain links with the fascist history of the country.
On Wednesday evening, FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed his "
solidarity with Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda
".
“
Let’s shout loud and clear: NO TO RACISM!
May the overwhelming majority of supporters, who are good people, rise up to silence all racists once and for all!
“, he wrote on Instagram.
Umtiti reposted this message in a story on his Instagram account, along with the following comment: "
Only football, fun, joy, the rest does not count
".
The Serie A Disciplinary Committee has also ordered an additional investigation into racist cries aimed at Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, which came from the Napoli supporters' sector during the clash won by the Nerazzurri in San Syrup (1-0).
