A Lazio spokesman has appealed to fans not to bring Hitler to their club.
Yesterday a video clip of Lazio fans marching through Glasgow city centre making Nazi salutes brought the issue into focus with condemnation from various sources.
The Italian side have long been associated with racist activities with some European matches in 2012 played behind closed doors as a consequence of incidents at the ground.
When Celtic play in Rome on November 7 part of the Stadio Olympico will be closed on the back of incidents during the Europa League tie with Rennes.
Reacting to yesterday’s video from Glasgow The Sun reports:
Lazio spokesman, Arturo Diaconale, in an interview with an Italian radio station, admitted the club are exasperated by an element of their fans and they are set to act.
He said: “These are incidents that damage the club and therefore we could take action for damages. We cannot prevent the entry of these racists into the stadium, but we will do all in our power to limit their actions. These people are bringing Hitler into Lazio and that is a huge mistake. The vast majority of those who make up the Lazio supporters hate those who have anything to do with Hitler.
“It is wrong to generalise our fans because it is not the actions of all our supporters. But they are giving the impression with their actions that Lazio is a racist club around Europe. These are provocations and actions aimed at damaging society.
“Nobody remembers that we sent a delegation from the club to visit Auschwitz last year. Our stadium has been politicised by some fans who think these actions are relevant. We are paying the price for a social phenomenon that has spread over the years.”
While the club is virtually powerless over the actions of supporters in a foreign city centre, Lazio can control ticket distribution.
Around 1,300 of their fans attended the match against Celtic, it shouldn’t take too much effort to identify the 100 that marched through Glasgow on the afternoon of the match. Celtic are expected to have 10,000 fans in Rome for the match on November 7.