January 27, 2013

ROME (JTA) — European soccer authorities sanctioned Rome’s Lazio team for the anti-Semitic behavior of militant fans with a suspended one-game stadium ban.

The disciplinary commission of the Union of European Football Associations ruled that Lazio could play its next European Cup match before its fans, the Italian media reported over the weekend, but at the first sign of racist or anti-Semitic chanting or other behavior, Lazio would be barred from one round of European League games.

During the Nov. 22 league match with London’s Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio fans chanted “Juden Tottenham” and unfurled a large banner reading “Free Palestine.” The night before the match, Hotspur fans were beaten up at a downtown cafe. Lazio is known for its militant, far-right hard-core fans, while Tottenham has many Jewish supporters who sometimes call themselves the “Yid army.”

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