Lazio president Claudio Lotito said Tuesday the club would take 200 fans every year to visit Auschwitz after images of Holocaust victim Anne Frank were used to offend hated rivals Roma.
Lotito made the announcement as he visited the Rome Synagogue two days after Lazio fans posted stickers of Frank in a Roma jersey alongside anti-semitic slogans during a Serie A game at the Stadio Olimpico.
“Most of our fans are with us against anti-semitism,” stressed Lotito as he brought a floral wreath to remember all victims of anti-semitism.
He explained that Lazio would also be undertaking a series of initiatives such as visits by players to schools to educate on respecting rules and stamping out racism and social barriers.
“Today we intend to reaffirm our position once again with this clear and unequivocal gesture – no one can use Lazio in this way,” said Lotito.
Sources close to the Jewish Community of Rome welcomed the idea of visiting Auschwitz as “positive and confirms that in addition to the gesture, there is a need for concrete initiatives concerning the world of football, sport and government”.
The photos and stickers of Frank – the Jewish teenager who died in Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in 1945 – were stuck on glass barriers during the 3-0 win over Cagliari and were discovered by staff after the game.
The incident led to widespread condemnation with Italian president Sergio Mattarella deploring the use of an image of Frank, whose “story of suffering and death by Nazi barbarians moved the world”.
“Using her image as an insult and threat, as well as being inhumane, is alarming for our country which suffered 80 years ago from the cruelty of anti-semitism.”