Lazio's Italian midfielder Mattia Zaccagni (bottom C-R) joins Lazio fans in a tribune to celebrate at the end of the match against AS Roma on March 19, 2023 at the Olympic stadium in Rome. - AFP PIC
Lazio's Italian midfielder Mattia Zaccagni (bottom C-R) joins Lazio fans in a tribune to celebrate at the end of the match against AS Roma on March 19, 2023 at the Olympic stadium in Rome. - AFP PIC

MILAN: Lazio said Tuesday that they were working to identify and ban fans guilty of anti-Semitic behaviour during the weekend's Rome derby which was blasted by the city's Jewish community.

Sunday's 1-0 win over crosstown rivals Roma which moved Lazio second in Serie A was marred by racist chanting from a portion of home supporters at the Stadio Olimpico, insulting opposition fans by singing that they "prayed at the Synagogue."

One Lazio fan was pictured wearing a replica top with the name "Hitlerson" and the number 88, a reference to the Nazi Germany slogan "Heil Hitler", on the back.

"Before and after Sunday's match we had in place security... to identify those responsible and ban them from the stadium," Lazio said in a statement.

"We will announce the positive results of this in the coming hours."

Lazio said that they "have always been at the forefront... in publically condemning, preventing and clamping down on discriminatory, racist or anti-Semitic behaviour", adding that the club was the "damaged party."

The weekend's incidents are the latest in a litany involving Lazio's hardcore fans, some of the most right wing in a country where fascist fan groups are a widespread phenomenon.

Earlier this month the Italian Football Federation announced a probe into anti-Semitic chants aimed at Roma after videos of a small group of Lazio fans at Napoli were circulated on social media.

In it, around 100 supporters proudly called themselves racist and insulted their Roma counterparts – who also have a long history of far-right fan groups – by saying their fathers were deported to Nazi concentration camps.

In January, authorities ordered the closure of the Curva Nord section of the Stadio Olimpico, where Lazio's hardcore fans stand, for one match following racist chants at Lecce which left France international Samuel Umtiti in tears.

Last season the handler of Lazio's eagle mascot praised dictators Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco after being suspended by the club for performing a fascist salute at the end of a match.--AFP