A video that is doing the rounds
on the Internet showing soccer fans - presumably followers of
Czech side Sparta Prague - urinating on a Rome beggar sparked
outrage in Italy on Friday.
The video of the incident on the beautiful Ponte
Sant'Angelo bridge by one of Rome's most famous monuments,
Castel Sant'Angelo, appeared to have been shot before Sparta
beat Lazio 3-0 on Thursday to qualify for the Europa League
quarterfinals 4-1 on aggregate.
It comes after several incidents in the past of visiting
fans committing vile acts and causing mayhem in the Italian
capital.
One of most famous occurred last year, when big crowds of
fans of Dutch side Feyenoord fans got drunk in central Rome and
inflicted damage on the historic Barcaccia fountain
near the Spanish Steps.
"I'd like it if those so-called fans of Sparta Prague who
urinated on a beggar and had the courage to immortalise
themselves on Youtube never again set foot in an Italian
stadium, starting with the (Stadio) Olimpico (in Rome)," said
Roberto Giachetti, the candidate to be Rome mayor in June's
local elections for Premier Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party
(PD).
"I hope that they are identified as soon as possible.
Soccer cannot be an excuse to come to Rome and commit abominable
acts".
Virginia Raggi, the mayor candidate for the
anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, said the incident was a
breach of human rights and said that, if she won, the M5S would
take action to ensure "the doors of the city are closed to these
beast fans".
The Czech embassy in Rome condemned the incident but
stressed it had yet to be proved that Sparta Prague fans were
the culprits.
"At the moment we don't know if it was a Sparta Prague
supporter", the embassy said, since it said the images
circulating on the Internet were not clear.
"We await the report from the Italian police," the embassy
told ANSA.
A press office spokesman said "unfortunately these are
very unpleasant things which may happen and we are very sorry.
He said "99% of our fans are very serious people, they
came to Rome without wanting revenge...There was no reason to be
provocative".
The embassy said that certain fans behaved the same way
the world over.
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