'Hitlerson' fan faces charges under Nazi/Fascism law

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 22 - A man who wore a Lazio shirt with the name Hitlerson on the back above the number 88, a number referring to letters "HH" for "Heil Hitler", at Sunday's Rome derby could be charged under the 1993 Mancino law against gestures, actions and slogans hailing Nazism or Fascism.
    The man has been identified as a German national, thanks to closed-circuit videos, and has been reported to prosecutors.
    Rome police said the same man was charged for involvement in a pitch invasion during a Rome derby in 2009.
    The prosecutors have opened a case for alleged breach of the Mancino law, which punishes the propaganda of ideas based on racial or ethnic superiority or hatred, and acts, or instigation to commit acts, of discrimination for ethnic, racial or religious reasons with jail terms of up to 18 months and fines of up to 6,000 euros.
    In the meantime, Rome police have imposed a five-year ban from attending Italian soccer grounds on the man.
    The match, in which Lazio beat AS Roma 1-0, was also marred by anti-Semitic chants by some Lazio fans.
    In the chant, the fans insulted Roma supporters by saying that they "pray in the synagogue".
    Sporting prosecutors are investigating the chants.
    The Rome club released a statement condemning the anti-Semitism, saying it was working with the authorities to "avoid, isolate and combat these phenomenon".
    Lazio, like many Italian teams, has a significant number of far-right supporters among its fans.
    They have been behind a series of shameful acts of racism and anti-Semitism in the past and have given the club a bad name.
    In January the soccer authorities closed the Curva Nord section of Rome's Stadio Olimpico, where Lazio's hardcore 'ultra' fans stand, for one match over racist abuse directed at Lecce players Samuel Umtiti and Lameck Banda during an away game.
    The derby anti-Semitism was also condemned by Lazio e Libertà, a group of the club's fans who are trying to combat the stereotype that depicts all the team's supporters as neo-fascists.
    "We express our profound disapproval of those who use our colours to re-evoke the monster of Naziism or the abomination of anti-Semitism, dressing it up as misunderstood jest," the group said via Facebook.
    "Lazio is not black, it is sky blue". (ANSA).