City of Rome, Lazio fans blast Fascist salutes in Munich

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 6 - The city of Rome has condemned the Fascist salutes and chants of 'Duce', hailing Benito Mussolini, that were performed by a group of hard-core 'ultra' fans at a Munich beer hall before Tuesday's Champions League match against Bayern Munch, while other supporters of the club also blasted the shameful scenes shown in social-media posts.
    Rome Sports Chief Alessandro Onorato said what had happened at the Hofbraeuhaus beer hall, where Adolf Hitler gave a speech at the founding of the Nazi Party in 1920, was "shameful" He said the images "damage the image of the club, of all the supporters and of Rome".
    The Lazio e Libertà supporters association expressed dismay too in a Facebook post.
    "It's a shame that a few history dunces try to soil us all and the club at every oppportunity," it said.
    Many ordinary Lazio fans used much stronger language to condemn what happened in social media posts.
    Munich police are investigating the incident Lazio, like many Italian teams, has a significant number of far-right supporters among its fans.
    They have been behind a series of shameful acts of racism and anti-Semitism in the past and have given the club a bad name.
    Club sources said that the fans involved in the Hofbraeuhaus incident "do not represent us in the slightest".
    Onorato also called on Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi to intervene to stop violent fan groups saying the Munich incident and other recent ones by the fans of other clubs showed that "enough is enough".
    "After the fascist chants of some Lazio fans in Munich, a racist, anti-Semitic chant sung by Roma fans on their return from the away match in Monza has now also hit the Internet," Onorato said.
    "It is another shameful episode which highlights a terrifying mix of racism, anti-Semitism, Fascism and violence that has been dirtying the world of healthy sport for too long, damaging football clubs, the vast majority of fans and the name of our city". (ANSA).