Italian soccer team punished over fans’ anti-Semitic chants
Published April 19, 2016
ROME (JTA) — Italian sports officials punished top soccer team Juventus, ordering it to close a section of its stadium for its next home game after fans shouted anti-Semitic chant.
The order was then suspended and will only be enforced if there is a repeat of the behavior, ESPN reported. The Curva Sud section represents about a quarter of the stadium. The anti-Semitic chants were heard coming from the section on Sunday during the team’s 4-0 win over Palermo.
According to the chant’s chorus, for which the team has been punished in the past, people from Florence, where the team’s chief rival is based, are “not Italian” but “a bunch of Jews.”
The chants occurred between 34th minute and the 36th minute of the first half of a home match in the Serie A championship match against Palermo.