The organised Lazio fan groups have vented their anger at the management following Sunday’s embarrassing Coppa Italia exit.
Lazio Beaten By Mantova
In his first competitive match in charge, Gennaro Gattuso’s team lost to Mantova by two goals to nil. Due to the ongoing fan protest against Lazio president Claudio Lotito, the contest was played at a virtually empty Stadio Olimpico, with only 5,528 people entering the ground, including more than 2,000 travelling supporters.
Lazio Supporters Livid With Coppa Italia Defeat
Following the shocking exit, the organised fan groups released a new statement (via Il Corriere dello Sport), once again calling out the hierarchy for their failure to improve the team, while mocking the media scrum that accompanied Davide Frattesi’s transfer from Inter Milan.
Where did we leave off… it ended badly and started even worse! Out against Mantova, out of the Coppa Italia, a trophy we are attached to and cared deeply about! We are picking up where we left off! We are going back to the statement of June 5, when we announced our decisions, the choices that brought 30,000 of us into the streets on July 2 and set in motion a media phenomenon that is making waves all over the world. However, we must reiterate certain points that some people (a few) still have not understood. Welcome, Frattesi! Who gives a damn about Frattesi! We are always happy when a new player puts on the Lazio shirt, and even more so when he grew up wearing the Biancocelesti colours. We wish him all the very best for a great season (for us, that is an obligation!), but none of this must distract us from our objective, especially after such a humiliating defeat: namely, fighting the dictatorship of a man who cannot accept defeat and lacks the foresight to understand that he has reached the end of the road.
No to Stadio Flaminio Design
The supporters reiterated their objection to the club’s Stadio Flaminio design, which would divide the Curva Nord in half.
It is not the signings that interest us but, if anything, the buyers. Results are not what matter to us, even though we absolutely want to win. Nor is the promise of a stadium enough to change our minds (we do not like that project for a Curva Nord split into two tiers; we have said so and we will fight it strongly because there is still time to change it!). We remain firm in our convictions: we want our freedom, and we will fight for it until the very limits of our strength!
Lazio Fans Want ‘Romanista’ Director Out of Their Club
The Lazio fans insist the club must part ways with Emanuele Floridi, who serves as Head of Strategy and Communications, due to his allegiance to their blood rivals, AS Roma.
We had asked for certain things, which many others joined us in demanding and repeatedly called for, with one above all, the simplest one to implement: GET THE ROMANISTI OUT OF LAZIO. Yet Mr Floridi still holds his role within Lazio, free to write letters and statements and make decisions that make us all ashamed every day. And yet nothing! No sign of change, no sign of openness, no willingness to do anything that moves towards the supporters’ demands, and therefore no change of heart from us either!
A Message for Gennaro Gattuso & Lazio Players
The Lazio faithful also had a message for Gattuso and his players, promising them support throughout the season, but also warning them against complacency.
Welcome, Mister! There is a lot of work to do. We will support you as we did your predecessor, but you must be aware that we will give you no respite, while to all your players who do not honour the shirt in every match, who do not show the necessary balls and who do not respect our history and its supporters, we say: give everything you have, as you have never done before in your lives, or leave Lazio now! The excuses are over. Going out of the Coppa Italia against Mantova has used up all the jokers you had! We will remain vigilant and present throughout Rome so that there are no distractions from your ‘work’. We will be breathing down your necks and we will show you what the protests of the 1990s were like!
Lazio Fans Determined To Follow The Team on The Road
Finally, the supporters warned the authorities about trying to ban them from travelling to away matches, promising to find a way to access all stadiums.
To all our Lazio brothers, we say: do not fall for the provocations that will be thrown at us (see Bologna), because apparently someone at Formello ‘hopes’ that away trips will be banned, thinking that this way they will see us back at the Olimpico. Nothing could be further from the truth! You will see us in the away sections throughout Italy, and if away trips are closed off, we will organise wonderful ‘cultural trips’ to the cities where our Lazio plays, because nobody can deprive us of our freedom to move around as Italian citizens. As usual, we will make sure people talk about us! FORZA LAZIO! FORZA LAZIALI!”