Lazio fanatics have caused a huge uproar by telling women to avoid the ‘sacred space’ of the club’s home ground Stadio Olimpico in the club’s Serie A opener against Napoli. There were flyers that said that women should avoid the stadium’s ‘sacred space’. The flyers read, “The Curva Nord represents for us a sacred space, an environment with an unwritten code to be respected. The first few rows, as always, have been experienced like the trenches. In the trenches, we do not allow women, wives and girlfriends, so we invite them to position themselves from the 10th row back.Those who choose the stadium as an alternative to a carefree and romantic day in [Rome’s] Villa Borghese [gardens], should go to other sections.”
Following the match, Lazio spokesman Arturo Diaconale said that “it is not the position of the club, we are against any discrimination.” Diaconale added, “Moreover, there is an enormous number of Lazio fans, this instead is an initiative from a few fans. We can’t always intervene to avoid politically incorrect displays like this. ”
In the match, the White and Sky Blues took the lead in the 25th minute thanks to Ciro Immobile. However, Arkadiusz Milik equalized for Napoli just before the interval before Lorenzo Insigne scored the winner in the 59th minute.
This is not the first time Lazio fans have been at the forefront of controversy. Last season, some fans scattered pictures of World War 2 casualty Anne Frank wearing a Roma shirt. At the time, Lazio were fined €50,o00. Lazio play their next Serie A game against Juventus on Saturday.
