Lazio’s Curva Nord to be closed for one match

Serie A’s sporting judge has confirmed that Lazio’s Curva Nord will be closed for one match following the racist abuse aimed at Lecce players Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda. The pair were singled out during Lecce’s 2-1 comeback victory over the Biancocelesti and racist abuse could be heard from the away end of the Stadio Ettore Giardiniero.

The abuse bought Umtiti to tears and he was consoled by his teammates after the match, which had already been stopped temporarily by the referee in the second half.

The sporting judge’s verdict read:

“Having read the referee’s report and the report of the federal prosecutor’s office in which, among other things, it is reported that during the entire match the supporters of the club Lazio, crowded in the ‘guests distinguished south-east’ sector, were responsible for almost all of them (approximately 1,000 of the 1,072 occupants), for repeated chants of racial discrimination against the Lecce players, Banda and Umtiti’.

Lazio released an official statement, once again claiming that their fans ‘are not racist’, despite repeated incidents over the decades involving the Curva Nord.