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10:16, 25-Oct-2017
Anne Frank diary to be read at Italian matches to condemn anti-Semitism
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A minute's silence will be held and a passage from Anne Frank's diary will be read before games in Italy this week in response to acts of anti-Semitism by Lazio fans, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said.
The FIGC announced that a minute's silence will be observed before Serie A, B and C matches during the week and amateur and youth games over the weekend. A passage from Frank's diary will also be read before games to keep alive memories of the Holocaust, while referees and captains will give a copy of the diary to child mascots accompanying players onto pitches.
Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl whose diary of hiding from the Nazis in a Dutch attic came to symbolize the horror of the Holocaust, in an undated photo. /Reuters Photo
Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl whose diary of hiding from the Nazis in a Dutch attic came to symbolize the horror of the Holocaust, in an undated photo. /Reuters Photo
In addition, an image of Frank will be put on Lazio's shirts for Wednesday's Serie A game at Bologna to show their fight against "all forms of racism and anti-Semitism," the club said.
During Sunday's league game against Cagliari, Lazio fans defaced the Stadio Olimpico, which they share with rivals Roma, with anti-Semitic slogans and stickers showing images of Frank. The Jewish teenager, who died in Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in 1945, was depicted wearing a jersey of their hated city rivals.
The images have whipped up a storm in Italian football with the Roman club announcing they also intend to take youngsters every year to visit the former Nazi camp at Auschwitz, in Poland.
Lazio (in light blue) vs local rivals AS Roma (in red) in a derby match in December 2016. /Reuters Photo
Lazio (in light blue) vs local rivals AS Roma (in red) in a derby match in December 2016. /Reuters Photo
"This is not football, this is not sport. Get anti-Semitism out of stadiums," responded Ruth Dureghello, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, on Twitter.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday personally called Interior Minister Marco Minniti to ensure that those responsible would be identified and "permanently banned from stadiums."
Rome police on Monday launched an investigation into the case.
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Source(s): AFP