ROME (Reuters) – Italian Serie A club Lazio and Israel’s top flight Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv have forged a partnership for projects against discrimination, a joint statement said on Thursday.
The announcement came after a meeting between club representatives in Israel, which marked the beginning of a cooperation to develop “synergies in football” while “promoting values of integration and social inclusion.”
“The collaboration will focus on awareness projects and the fight against all forms of discrimination,” the statement said.
“We wish all sides the best of luck in such an important relationship between the clubs and between Israel and Italy,” said Lion Cohen, vice-CEO and director of football at Maccabi Israel, which includes the two clubs of Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Instances of racism and anti-Semitism are commonplace in Italian stadiums, with fans regularly booing or shouting abuse at Black players, using the word “Jew” as an insult and displaying Nazi or fascist symbols.
Lazio, who along with city rivals AS Roma are the main soccer teams in the Italian capital, have been struggling for years to crack down on far-right fans chanting racist and fascist slogans.
“We will soon draft a Memorandum to create technical synergies in football and promote cultural exchange, launching an awareness campaign against hatred and racial discrimination,” said Lazio chairman Claudio Lotito, who is also a senator with the co-ruling centre-right Forza Italia party.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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